The next Mayor of Geelong in Victoria should be revealed later today, with early vote counting giving celebrity photographer Darryn Lyons the lead.

Mr Lyons, who has returned to Geelong after living in London for many years, has about twice as many votes as his nearest rival in the by-election.

The celebrity photographer has polled almost 7,100 first-preference votes.

Local businesswoman Stephanie Asher, who finished second in last year's mayoral election, has almost 3,400 votes to her name.

About 20 per cent of the preferences have been calculated.

Thomas Harper from the Victorian Electoral Commission says the vote count would resume this morning.

"We expect we'll have a provisional [result] by probably around 10 o'clock tonight," he said.

The mayoral position became vacant when Keith Fagg resigned in August, just nine months into his four-year term, citing health issues.