About Me

LIVERPOOL WEDDING, PORTRAIT & COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
by SAMANTHA BROWN

What does an image mean to you?

 

For me an image is a moment in time captured for eternity, It just stays still. It’s a window into the past, for without it our history becomes obsolete. It’s a moment in time encapsulated forever, it never ages it’s just there for all who wants to view it and become part of it. Photographs evoke memories and certain thoughts, looking at a photograph I’m transported back to that moment just for that particular time.

I love images, my world would be nothing without them. In my head I see things in images all the time from an early age I used to frame things in my head.
1976 is when my photographic journey began.  My parents took me on holiday for the first time to Sri Lanka my country of origin.
Being born in Britain my parents thought it was better not to teach us our native tongue as they thought that Singhalese would interfere with us learning English, so they chose not to teach us. On my first trip to Sri Lanka most people spoke English but I felt that I was missing out when everyone alternated back and forth from Sinhalese to English. I had to find another way to express myself and this came in the form of a camera.
My father had a “Kodak Retina” which he handed over to me to use and as a child of eight years old, I was thrilled at the thought he trusted me with his beloved camera and I used this device as my way of communication without any language barriers.
I photographed people, all kinds of flora and fauna and because of the intense sunlight, beautiful shadows would be cast from the rattan furniture on the Veranda, I loved this play of light and shade .  In fact, I photographed anything that interested me, I found all the colours and forms very beautiful.

I believe that was the beginning of my journey as a photographer. 


As a child one of my favourite memories was getting my parents wedding album of of its box and spending hours looking at all the images. It was London in the swinging sixties, 1962 to be exact. I remember looking at my parents and thinking how amazing they looked and all my aunts, uncles and grandparents and thinking “wow” they were such sharp dressers! but then it was 1962, influenced by Hubert de Givenchy of Paris, for Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Jackie Kennedy with her wonderful slender evening dresses and impeccable jewellery. A young designer by the name of Yves Saint Laurent, had recently left the House of Dior and successfully opened his own establishment.  All of this could be found in my parents wedding album, the love, my family, the styles, the fashion, the elegance, to me it was like a magical book and I could almost be transported back in time to their wonderful day.

Images are very evocative of times gone, they hold precious memories and especially in this digital age where we store so many images on various device’s  I think it’s even more important to print images out so we can keep them for our future loved ones so they can look back and take a glimpse at us and into our past.
I feel very privileged that I can be in a position to document these moments for you in whatever shape or form they come in.

A little bit about my background:
Combined with art school training I have over 25 years of experience in the photographic field. I have a BA and Masters Degree. One of my greatest highlights was to have worked for The Ford Model Agency New York as an assistant photographer in the field of fashion and beauty during the era of the “Super Models late 1980’s”. I loved the creativity and the skills used for fashion photography but sadly I found the fashion industry very cut throat and shallow.

On arriving back to England I opted for a career change and started to work as an Editorial and documentary photographer for The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester Halle, Opera North and The Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Little did I know back then that this was creating the perfect skill set for capturing beautiful wedding photography as I learnt how to be unobtrusive, watch for the right moment and capture situations with my sitters being unaware of me.
Then Sarah, a lady who worked at the Philharmonic at the time was getting married and asked me to be her photographer! I was terrified. I had never shot a wedding before! She said “you’ll be fine just treat it as a Philharmonic project!” So I did, I just documented the whole day and I’ve never looked back since.

Many years later here I am still doing what I love, photographing people, places, community, buildings, landscape, architecture, editorial and commercial.  Im also a Licentiate member of the SWPP the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers.

I have Exhibited my work at The Royal Scottish Academy Edinburgh, Open Eye Liverpool, Williamson Art gallery Wirral and St James Palace London “Roots of the future” opened by Prince Charles.

I feel very privileged that I can be in a position to document these moments for you, whether it be at a wedding or a portrait session,  a just a simple family get-together, a birthday, anniversary or a christening or maybe just a  beautiful walk in the park with your pet dog.

On a commercial level I can capture interiors and exteriors of the buildings, portraits or anything else that you may need, maybe it’s product shot or food photography if you’re a restaurant or hotel. You may need to create lifestyle images for marketing purposes, a fashion shoot  or you may need to document a process.

Whatever the reason you may need a photographer I hope to be able to help you in one way or another, Ive been photographing for over 30 years having the life experience I have had,  enables me to interact with my client on many levels by understanding your brief or by just being a compassionate photographer.

If you think I can help I would love to talk to you.