By Samuel Castor
Stiff legs, awkward poses, and worn out smile muscles are common complaints after hours of wedding photography - at least among the grooms. The brides however tell a different story.
'I thought it was fun, I got to kiss him for two hours,' Kirstin Johnson said with a laugh. But the social cultural anthropology graduate said one of the hardest parts was getting her fianc? to smile.
'I think he felt uncomfortable in front of the camera,' Johnson said. 'It helped that we were just kind of goofing off.'
Johnson said choosing a photographer was a bit of a chore at first, but they ended up finding a friend who had the equipment and offered to photograph the couple for free.
'We kind of got the hook up,' she said.
In the two-hour session, Johnson said they were photographed more than 750 times. 'Digital cameras are the way to go,' she said 'Otherwise it would have been more painful.'
Even with the appeal of digital speed, many photographers say film has a quality digital will never capture.
'We feel that it looks better, you can see a difference,' said Doti Herd, owner of Doti Portrait Photography. 'There''s better skin tone colors, it has a richer look to it.' Herd a native of Germany who has been taking pictures her entire life said even with the trends leaning toward digital film among wedding photographers, in final product you can still see the difference.
'I believe that most people do the digital now because in the end, it cost them less to do it,' the photographer said. She explained her company often makes a smaller profit because of their loyalty to film, but she thinks her customers deserve it. She said customers have been known to spend up to 20 thousand dollars for that quality.
'That''s not very often unfortunately,' she said.
But even with her loyalty to old-fashioned film, Herd said digital has its advantages.
'You can actually show the little screen to the customer... and change it immediately,' she said. 'That''s a fun advantage.'
Andrew Lee owner of Andrew Lee Photography, said the difference between digital and film has more to do with the photographer''s experience.
'A lot of photographers feel like have to have a roll of film in their hand, that''s their product right there,' he said.
Lee who only offers digital photography said many photographers use digital because it offers a 'crystal, crisp clearness,' that film simply doesn''t capture.
For couples looking for a photographer, Lee warned against using years of experience as a standard.
'A photographer can be a photographer for 30 years and his work looks like crap,' he said. 'The number of years isn''t necessarily the icing on the cake.'
Lee said couples deciding on photographers should look through portfolios paying attention to consistency and style.
'The bottom line is, if brides like your work, and if that''s what their eye is looking for and they like it, they should go for it,' the owner said.