Is photography a profession, hobby or obsession for you?

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Originally Posted by ddt0725

Hi All -
For me, it is the latter and I am trying real hard to bring it down to more of a very occaisional level and wincing at the withdrawal pains!Case in point, I very, very recently became a grandmother again and for nine months could not wait to take some professional looking photographs of my new granddaughter! Especially since I was still using a point and shoot when my other grandchildren were born! Well, to put it mildly, my oldest daughter does not like my new found "obession" or anything I produce from it. She says all I do is snap photos and I don't actually just sit and visit with anyone anymore! So, to keep her happy ...to date, I have not taken one photograph of my new granddaughter! [img]/emoticons/emotion-9.gif[/img] She will give me photos she has taken w/ her p&s or that she has done "professionally" ...but it's not the same!

Maybe I DO need a 12-step program!

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Denise I feel for you. I too did have the same dilemma with my six grand children, and boy did I feel bad. Without going into too much into the why's and not's I found out that many of my grand children parents enjoyed seeing photo's in a video slide show inc of music, rather than a single picture. Over time they started to look at single shots of the grand kids and actually ask me to have many pictures printed. We (members of TDP) all like to be complimented on our photos by everyone inclusive of the "experts" and we all love doing this as a hobby and or as a semi pro.


But reality tells me that many (who only use P&S cameras) do not have the time and or interest in looking at pictures the way we do. I now show all my pictures in a still format i.e Flickr and also in a photo HD video format (Vimeo) and I get fantastic feed back from all my P&S families, friends and even people I do not know. [:O]


I don't know what the 12 step program is, but I hope that my waffling did make a little sense. By the way many of your pixs are excellent. [Y]


Wally

A hobby and maybe throw in a little obsession. It

I am backing off the shooting when it comes to photographing the people in my life (including my dogs) but I still plan on shooting nature as often as I can! At least, until Mother Nature starts complaining about it!

Great topic Denise! Photography for me is a hob-session I would have to say. I find it interesting, challenging and rewarding. I don

Definitely a hobby for me, that I try and indulge as much as I can as I learn and try to get better. I split my time between, food and cooking, wine, gardening, bonsai and bushwalking. With this much on the go sometimes work gets in the way and I have to ease back on one or two of these hobbies.


I find if during the week I can work on ideas for one or two things that I might want to shoot, it actually improves the quality of the shots I get. Sometimes I get home and look at my shots and decide I have to go back and do it all again. (note to self, please learn how to properly review pictures on site and check quality. Actually the few times that I have worked beside Pros, they tend to check their shots very critically as they shoot, I find as a keen amateur I don

All three? But I don't excel at any of the three [:D] I really just like taking pictures.

I definitely fall somewhere between hobby and obsession. But the obsessive part comes in waves when I find an aspect of photography that really interests me or I am in need of a creative outlet. So, I would say that photography is a hobby that I can get obsessive about.


But similar to your story Denise, my wife was recently...ummm...commenting on how I need to photograph less while kayaking and go back to talking with her more......... :)


Regarding your granddaughters....any chance that you can socialize with them most of the time but set up a "special" photography trip? Or negotiate with you daughters so that you can bring your camera everything third or fourth visit? You know, photography time with good behavior? :)

For me; It started out as an obsession. And to pay for my obsession I went professional. Did a lot of photographs and made a few cover shots on some international magazines a couple of times. Costs where getting far out of control as my obsession increased. I had to do paid photography just to support my obsession. It became a crazy cycle with no real life other than photography. I had some hard choices if I wanted to continue my obsession. I would have to do photography of subjects I really did not want to just to get more money to buy more camera related stuff.. I was not passionate or happy about the work and I think it showed. Then I went cold turkey and did not touch a camera for years. Now I have a family and a life and keep my obsession in control by taking personnel pictures of things I want and when I want - just for the fun of it. My wife helps keep my photo budge in check and I get that original great feeling every time I take picture now because I want to and not because I have to.


So I would have put myself into the category of a recovering compulsive photographer who keeps his obsession in tight check. Most importantly I am having fun and enjoying the state I am in.

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Originally Posted by jimr

It became a crazy cycle with no real life other than photography.
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There is another life out there? [:D]

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Originally Posted by ddt0725

For me, it is the latter and I am trying real hard to bring it down to more of a very occaisional level and wincing at the withdrawal pains!Case in point, I very, very recently became a grandmother again and for nine months could not wait to take some professional looking photographs of my new granddaughter! Especially since I was still using a point and shoot when my other grandchildren were born! Well, to put it mildly, my oldest daughter does not like my new found "obession" or anything I produce from it. She says all I do is snap photos and I don't actually just sit and visit with anyone anymore! So, to keep her happy ...to date, I have not taken one photograph of my new granddaughter! [img]/emoticons/emotion-9.gif[/img] She will give me photos she has taken w/ her p&amp;s or that she has done "professionally" ...but it's not the same!

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Denise


That is a sad story, I feel for you.


Grandma's not able to take pictures of their Grand Babies....it is just not right.


I would keep at it if I were you though, obsessions make the best professions.