First, brown is not a single color. There are all kinds of brown, including cordovan (with red tones) and a straight up tan, compared to traditional darker brown leather. Second, any brown works fine with a navy suit. That is actually the quintessential pairing. Black shoes and belt with a navy suit is OK, but generally not optimal. You want a little contrast on the belt and shoes, and black on navy is pretty drab. The real measure of a good match is the quality of the shoe and the suit. Get me good leather and good wool with a good cut, and you'd have a hard time going wrong with navy and brown. The real problem here, I suspect, is that mrphotogenic is a youngster, socioeconomically challenged, or someone who doesn't know his way around business attire — or all of the above.