[2] Paul Renato Torcello was born in Trieste, Italy and migrated with his family to Australia.
After traveling and living in the Middle East and Europe he studied visual art at Caulfield Institute.
His client list included American Express, Beverly Wilshire, BHP, Trenitalia, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, Land Rover, China Airlines, Hayman Island Resort, Bollé sunglasses, Schiaparelli, Timberland, SHELL, ANZ Bank, Piaggio, Mitsubishi, Esanda, Converse Shoes, Singapore Tourist Commission, Le Meridien (Hong Kong), Rothschild Bank Winterthur, Vodafone, Qantas, Levis, Vidal Sassoon, Mazda, Dove Hair Products, ESPN, Gordon’s Gin, Alitalia, Yamaha, Swatch, Banca San Paolo (Italy), Elders,[5][6] Melbourne Water, Mercedes, Microsoft, Miele (Italy), Qantas, Visa, VLine, Adidas,[7] Tourism Australia,[8] Pure,[9] 3AW,[10] South Australia Tourist Commission,[11][12] Motor Accident Commission,[13] Nike,[14] Neil Pryde wetsuits,[15] and M&C Saatchi, Melbourne - posters for the Save the Children Campaign 2009, Lenovo, China (from March 2012), and National Australia Bank (2011)[16] He was represented by Collective Force,[17][18] and Sarah Hew Agency,[19] and by other agents in New Zealand and Europe.
The awarding in 2006 of a contract to depict Australian landscapes for Tourism Australia to a UK photographer Pete Seaward caused a scandal in advertising circles and was a cause taken up in parliament by the Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Resources, Forestry and Tourism Martin Ferguson MP, who remarked that "The choice overlooks internationally recognised local photographers including Paul Torcello..."[20] His work from 2017 in China included a commission to photograph actress Maggie Cheung.
[23][24] In place of floral tributes, donations were made to the Save The Children Fund for which he had photographed.