In my humble opinion, photojournalism is the hardest kind of photography to master. In fact, nobody really masters it. The minute you start thinking you've mastered photojournalism is the minute you stop growing as a photographer.

Because of the diversity of skills necessary to shoot everything from the spontaneous moments of spot news, the movement of sports, the elegance of fashion and food for the lifestyle sections, portraits for profile stories and capturing emotion for feature pieces, it provides the perfect training ground for shooting weddings. All those skills come into play in wedding photography.

Part of continuing to grow as a photographer is constantly looking at the great work of others. Not for the purpose of ripping their work off, but for the purpose of seeing what is possible and being inspired by it. You can then take that inspiration and build on it with your own personal vision.

Here are 7 photographers who have inspired me over my 20 years of taking photos. I don't claim to be in their league, but I definitely aspire to get better every time I pick up a camera because of their influence.

1. Henri Cartier—Bresson:

It all started with Henri Cartier—Bresson. The legendary French photographer is considered the father of "the decisive moment." This is the essence of all great street photography and photojournalism. He explains his work and how he developed his approach in the video above in a far more eloquent way than I could ever describe. It is worth a look.

2. Robert Frank:

Robert Frank was probably the first truly edgy photojournalists, and was one of the first to explore using motion blur and other anti-aesthetic techniques to convey a feel and mood to his images. His book The Americans probably inspired more photographers to fall in love with photojournalism than any other work in the 20th Century.

3. Eugene Richards:

Eugene Richards has been a champion of tackling social issues through is spectacular images for decades. My favorite project of his is Cocaine True, Cocaine Blue. It was one of the first works to show what crack cocaine and the drug underworld were doing to America's inner cities. He inspired an entire generation of photojournalists to get closer to their subject and give their images a more intimate feel by shooting with ultra-wide lenses.

I've always been amazed with his ability to create the kind of rapport with his subjects that enabled him to take such intimate images of people so different than himself. That requires far more skill than knowing how a camera operates, and I try to bring that same intimate approach to photographing weddings.

4. W. Eugene Smith:

Smith is considered the father of the modern photo story. He was one of the iconic photojournalists that made Life Magazine bigger than life, and showed how photographs could tell a story with a beginning, a middle and an end. It's the exact same approach I try to use in telling the story of your wedding day through images.

He is also one of the influences who encouraged me to never be satisfied with my work. If you come to my home, you will find very few images on my wall from my professional life. They are all of my kids and family. That is because by putting an image on my wall, I feel like that is an acknowledgement that I can't do better. I want my work to always be getting better so that I am embarrassed when I look at images I took just a few years earlier. That is the only way I feel like I can approach my work.

5. Richard koci Hernandez:

I was lucky enough to get to see Richard's work every day as a photojournalism student at San Jose State in the 90's because he was working for the San Jose Mercury News at the time. Hernandez came to speak to our program and was the first mentor I had who gave me permission to shoot what I like—not what I thought the judges in a photo competition would like or what an editor might like. He encouraged me to let the images flow from my own emotions and react to them instinctually as they unfolded in front of me. If you watch the YouTube video documenting his approach to street photography, you can see how pumped he gets when he finds a moment. I can absolutely relate to that feeling. It's truly is addictive and absolutely relates to the emotions surrounding your wedding day.

When I started shooting pictures that I felt passionate about, I organically got better and others started liking my photography better as well. The street photography of Richard koci Hernandez carries on the tradition of Henri Cartier-Bresson in a way that I think would make the old master smile.

6. Gary Parker:

Almost everything I know about lighting I learned from Gary Parker. Gary taught the advanced lighting class at San Jose State's photojournalism program. Gary was a bad-ass photojournalist back in the day before transitioning more into commercial work that required extremely elaborate lighting situations. Since then, Gary has been one of the best commercial photographers in the Silicon Valley—photographing for the giants of the tech industry. I don't have an embedded link to show you, but you can check out his portfolio on his website at: http://www.garyparker.com/portfolio.html

7. Eric Grigorian:

Eric and I started out in photojournalism together. We took our first photojournalism classes together at L.A. Pierce College before we both transferred to San Jose State. It just so happens he was also the best man at my wedding. All throughout college, we would stay up late doing editing sessions, tearing each other's work apart and trying to make each other better through brutal honesty. Eric grew into being one of the best photojournalists I know, and in 2002 he won the biggest photojournalism award on the planet—World Press Photo of the Year. It's more prestigious than a Pulitzer Prize because it takes in the entire world and is judged exclusively by photojournalists—not writers like the Pulitzer is. It was for the image above—a young boy holding his father's pants in Iran after his father died in an earthquake and was buried in a mass grave.

Eric's work has always inspired and pushed me, and Eric the person has always challenged and encouraged me to look at the world from different perspectives as well. You need people like that in your life, and I have been very fortunate throughout the years to have Eric as a friend to help me grow both as a photographer and a person.

Eric moved to Armenia to teach photography this past year, but you can see his full portfolio by clicking here.

Who were the most influential people in your life? Feel free to post about it below!