Sadly, unless you use a reputable photographer, this is the kind of stuff you run into. At this point, I would ask for him to just send you all of the photos on dvd's or cd's so that you can go someplace else to have your photo album made. While some photographers may have a great eye for photos, they can totally suck at business.
It happens a lot.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.