in the car again and engagement pics

Today I'm travelling to Indianapolis to spend the weekend and part of next week with D. All of this travel and last minute plans are taking their toll. I am TIRED. I am looking forward to sleeping in, reading, tv watching, eating, quietness, and possibly scrapbooking next week.

Now back to wedding stuff....

Wedding photography was one of my top priorities...and I put my money were my mouth is..or was..

I originally selected a photographer who had a well known reputation around Cincinnati. He *claimed* to be a photojournalist. D and I paid our large deposit and happily selected matching..well coordinating..outfits for our engagement pictures.

On the day of our big photoshoot, we primped, pressed, and prepared accordingly. We arrived at the studio early. We were escorted to the basement studio. Where there were backdrops....I knew in that moment that this "photojournalistic photoshoot" was going south...FAST.

The photographer was creepy and made awkward comments about hand placement and 'reasons to be smiling.'

As in, "Oh!! She smiles big when you put your hand there."

yeah. that was awkward.

We got our pictures back and they looked like they came from WalMart. I did not pay for posed, WalMart pictures. I began re-thinking my photographer and worrying about wedding pictures.

1 month before our wedding I wiggled my way out of my contract with the creepy photographer and started the search for a new, better, for-real photojournalist photographer. wowza that was a process.

I finally found a for-real photojournalist photographer. 3 weeks before my wedding.

Here are some of our for-real engagement pictures. I have to admit, painfully, that I lost the CD with all of the engagement pictures. I only have these two. I'm happy with them though.

I will tell you that I love my wedding photos. I finally felt at-ease about the photography.... however...looking back one year later....I now know that artsy, for-real photojournalistic photographers are AMAZING photographers...not businessmen. Meaning I did not get my beautiful wedding pictures until 6 months after my wedding and sometimes e-mails were not immediately returned.

There you have it.

-h