Had it not been for one critical decision, the world may have been
addressing him as Dr. Dino Tonn, DDS However, in college, Dino Tonn
realized that pursuing the dental sciences was not for him and decided to mix his science and math studies with equal parts art and magic to pursue photography.

Tonn was born in Minnesota and raised in Scottsdale, where a high school calculus teacher introduced him to the hobby of photography. Tonn
attended the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he received a degree from the School of Fine Arts. During and after college, Tonn apprenticed with several Arizona-based commercial photographers. In 1988, he joined Mark Boisclair, a Phoenix-based architectural photographer, as his full-time assistant.

By the time Tonn went out on his own full-time in 1995, he had already established himself as a talented architectural photographer, tackling residential and commercial projects, interiors and exteriors. In the last few years he's also been able to mix in another favorite pastime into his photography - golf - by shooting golf courses and clubhouses around Arizona and the West.

Tonn's client list includes home builders, developers, public relations
agencies, pool companies, architects and interior designers, including names
such as Urban Design Associates, Vernon Swaback Associates, Ferrara’s and
David Michael Miller, all of Scottsdale. His photographs have been published
in magazines such as Phoenix Home and Garden, Phoenix Magazine, Audio-Video
Interiors, Southwest Art and Professional Builder. His photographs were also
featured in a book by architect Vernon Swaback, Designing the Future (Arizona
State University, 1997).

What is the secret to the Tonn "look?" "I take pride in my lighting,"
Tonn says, "I'm critical about the right time of day to do a shot. I don't try to
force a shot to work at the wrong time of day – I'll come back when it's right."

Such precision would have made Tonn a great dentist. However, there's
not doubt his photography clients are happy he changed his mind about his
career.

By Nora Trulson, As featured in Sources & Design, Spr. 1999