Photo memories

I read an article today that brought back lots of memories from my wedding. It discussed the differences between traditional wedding photography and photo journalistic b&w wedding photography and also the importance of hiring good photographers. We were lucky enough to have both present at our wedding. One of our college professors agreed to take black and white photo journalistic photos , which are candid and not posed. They record the event as it unfolds, much like a video, but with photographs.

We were very happy with the black and white photos, but I wish I would've had this article to read before we hired our traditional photographer. He was a friend of a friend of a friend, so we didn't know him at all. His portfolio only had two couple's wedding photos and his personality didn't suit us either.

As a result, we got very canned-looking photos with "fake" smiles because he would say "ready", we would smile, then he wouldn't snap the picture for another few seconds. We had an interview with him before the wedding, but didn't ask much about his background or schooling. We were in a time crunch to find someone since our first photographer choice was already booked, so we figured it would be OK. As I read in the article, however, I realized that your photographer is the most important person hired for your wedding. They will capture the event for all to see in the future. How do you want to look back on your special day? I look back with regret that we didn't have a better photographer.