Dean Tokuno was born and raised on a small peach farm in rural Northern
California on September 24th 1953.

In 1977 Dean graduated from Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara California
with the Boris Dobro Award of Photographic Excellence and the Brooks
Institute Alumni Award.

From 1977 on, Dean has established himself as a distinguished and highly
respected Fashion and Advertising Photographer.

Known for his creativity,inspiration and unlimited energy, Dean has traveled
the United States extensively on assignment for a diverse clientele picking up
nearly a dozen Advertising awards along the way.

In 1988 Dean closed his studios in Chicago and Los Angeles to focus on his
highly personalized vision of photographic expressionism. As a result
the artful intimacy of Dean Tokuno's photography has broadly influenced
lifestyle advertising and has been used as the visual template for various
magazines for the past 14 years.

In 1998 Dean Tokuno was awarded the highly coveted Golden Light Award
by the Maine Photographic Workshops. Along with winning the Ernst Haas
Legacy Grant, Dean was named to the Top 100 List of
Contempory Fine Art Photographers.

In 1999 the "Dad" story recieved recognition from
Life Magazine's Alfred Eisensteadt Committee.

In 2001 Dean was awarded the Japanese American Citizens League
Legacy Grant for the "Uncle Tim" story.

Presently, Dean Tokuno continues to explore and further develop his unique
vision of photographic art. With management in New York Dean travels back
to his home and family farm in California between commercial assignments.