Robert Norman Photography

howdy!

0Born an only child in 1962 in beautiful Queens New York, I quickly learned how to keep myself entertained in the absence of brothers and sisters. Lying on my stomach in front of the TV for hours watching Lost In Space and drawing cartoons, I was easily lost in my own little creative world.

Many people grew concerned.

In high school in upstate New York, I dabbled in writing a humor column for the school paper (which was deemed FAR too biting by the school board and almost got me in some deep trouble) as well as doing not-always-flattering cartoons of teachers for the yearbook. My weird career had begun.

At Purchase College I continued my interest in art, focusing on graphic design until I was informed I had to take a photography class as a requirement. Since my only real photography experience had been with instamatics ( remember them? ) and my mom's groovy new Polaroid SX-70 (totally cutting edge at the time, dontcha know) I was not all that excited about the prospect.

The following year I marched into Photo 101 with my Canon AE-1 and quickly discovered the outlet for my art I was missing all along. I started shooting everything I could and my friends got tired of me shoving my camera in their faces.

After graduation, I hi-tailed it to LaGuardia and hopped the first plane to L.A. where I was a photo assistant in a studio on pre-TV-show Melrose Avenue. I was luckily enough to land a spot in one of the top commercial studios, simply because they had the budget at that time to pay me to essentially be the new useless guy. By the end of my stay, I became Mr. Prop Guru, and was driving around with passes to the film studio prop houses - having that access was like some weird kind of dream.

Dreamland or not, I had had enough of the sun and heat and moved back East. Sad little portfolio tucked under my arm, I wandered into NYC where I began shooting for several of the bigger modeling agencies, which pays nothing but is a lot of fun. As fate would have it, I stumbled into wedding photography in 1990. Determined to NOT be like the other obnoxious and pushy guys I had witnessed over the years as a guest, I took a different , loose approach from the start. Long before everyone under the sun suddenly became 'photojournalists' , this approach has seemed to be the key to my success even today

In 1998 I took my first trip to Europe was ignited my passion for travel photography. To this day, I try and take at least one trip a year that is not wedding related simply to keep my head and vision clear and fresh. I believe it is the balance weddings, fashion, design and travel that keeps me invigorated and moving full steam ahead.