Is photography a profession, hobby or obsession for you?

Hi All -


I just thought I'd throw this question out there for discussion! If photography is your profession, do you put the camera away at the end of your work day? If it is a hobby, do you just shoot occasionally? Or, do you shoot every chance you get & if you are not shooting you are editing or on sites like this one, reading and talking about photography?

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! [:'(] 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!

For me, it

it's a hobby for me and I know someday in the future I'll loss the interest. unlike other hobby I'v had, one of the good part of this photograph thing is that it will not cost you too much( not counting the cost of travelling )when you want to out of the game, especially when the dollar keeps getting weaker and the interest rate stays low.


as long as my EF lenses can hook on the latest camera body, I'm safe[:D]

It

As of late I have been "obsessed" with photography just like you. However being new to the photo world, this is sort of a given for any new hobby/interest. I cannot seem to pull myself away from lens reviews, camera spec comparisions, and sample images. There is much to learn and many of the photos that other hobbyists manage to capture are very inspiring.


It is good to know that even after shooting for some time, many people still love to go out for more.

I love to read just about anything about digital photography and specifically bird photography but it is definitely just a hobby.


I keep my setup ready so I can take pics of birds in the backyard frequently but often it

"Is photography a profession, hobby or obsession for you?"


Yes[:D]


Mark

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Originally Posted by clemmb

"Is photography a profession, hobby or obsession for you?"


Yes[img]/emoticons/emotion-2.gif[/img]


Mark
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Heehee! I would have thought more would have responded this way but it looks like some have that obsession part under control!

Obsession. My obsessions are programming, photography, video, astronomy, and history; in that order. Luckily, all of my obsessions can be combined, e.g. the history of astrophotography timelapse programming.

Well photography has always been a subject that captured my imagination. I can still vividly remember seeing the now famous iconic pictures of the 60&rsquo;s and 70&rsquo;s for the first time (some I wish I could forget). When I first started taking pictures it was with my mother&rsquo;s camera (Kodak Box Brownie) and I realized two things:


1. This is very expensive and we didn&rsquo;t have money to spare.


2. I have no compositional ability at all.


So my hobby/career ended before it even started (became a nerd instead, the pay is better).


When digital became widespread in 2000 I jumped back into photography (yes, this was my first camera). While I&rsquo;m now retired and have the money to buy new equipment there is still no change when it comes to composition.


So for me photography is Capturing the Moment, which means taking the best pictures I can, with the least amount of PP.

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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&amp;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&amp;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&amp;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.

HDNitehawk


Please read the following link.


http://www.whattheduck.net/strip/rss.xml

I have always had obsessions. I dive into the fire head first and see where I end up. Almost always it's fleeting. I have dabbled in graphic design, website design, programming, I.T., calligraphy, sculpting, graphite portraits, paintball, golf, running, mountain biking, writing, even went so far as to read classic american literature in chronological order, writing an essay on the "great conversation" and how they all touched on the subjects of the author's time. I have excelled at most of my endeavors but I get distracted so easily.. And then there was photography.


I'm hooked. It seems to be a huge pot, of which I'll never scrape the bottom. The technological advances alone mean that you'll always be learning, then there's the pleasing reminder with every shoot that basic principals and techniques are still demanding attention regardless of how neat my camera or equipment is. I can't.. stop. It is a medium that feeds every aspect of my brain, the creative, the logical, I get to geek out on gear, I expose myself to mountainous surroundings that I never would have before (still thinking about that lightning storm with all those stars). Post production touches on my graphic design background, and I'm building myself a website to boot. My absolute favorite thing about photography is the state of mind it puts me in. I'm at peace, everything slows down. I can breathe and appreciate how beautiful everything is. So I suppose it touches my spiritual side as well.


Most definitely an obsession, though I'm getting a lot more commissions the longer I shoot. Here's hoping. [:D]

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Originally Posted by Raid

HDNitehawk


Please read the following link.


http://www.whattheduck.net/strip/rss.xml

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Your link is broken. Hilarious though.





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Raid... Funny... yet so real [:)]

Ahaha Raid so so true. I was shooting a wedding a couple of months back and one lady there said to the bride in a huff, "I would have been able to get some great photos for you but that photographer guy kept getting in the way".


She was one of those people that had just bought a new body and lens kit and thought she was the next best thing. Luckily I was good friends with the bride and she replied something along the lines of "Well I

Wow, DD great question; but I am surprised at most of the answers. As most others have stated in on form or the other, photography can be a hobby, a profession or an obsession.....but those are all pretty narrow definitions. If someone plays a Guitar, would you ask them to limit the definition of thier art to one of those three words? How about a painter or someone who rides motorcycles or builds wood furniture by hand? It would be difficult to narrow the driving force of those talents, why would photography be any different? I did try and think of one word that describes my passion for photography, but couldn

I love how everyone is responding to this thread! I have lots of reading to catch up on! I was just able to quickly scan thru the last few entries but I will go back and read them more thoroughly tomorrow. I am dealing with a very sick dog tonight :(


I would LOVE to have my grandbaby for overnight or a weekend but unfortunately my daughter would never go for that :( One of the reasons being, she really does not like dogs! How this happened I will NEVER figure out since I am an over the top dog lover (another obsession) and my other children love dogs too ...and to be honest, so do my grandchildren! But she will not let my older granddaughter go near them except when she sneaks her little fingers thru the gate! Shhh ...don't tell her mom! LOL!


Today, I received "professional" photos of my new granddaughter in the mail! All I could think of was, with everything everyone here taught me on an earlier thread about taking newborn photos, I could have done that and better!

Congratulation Denise..... Krista Joy looks beautiful.


Wally

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Originally Posted by Bob Williams

Wow, DD great question; but I am surprised at most of the answers. As most others have stated in on form or the other, photography can be a hobby, a profession or an obsession.....but those are all pretty narrow definitions. If someone plays a Guitar, would you ask them to limit the definition of thier art to one of those three words? How about a painter or someone who rides motorcycles or builds wood furniture by hand? It would be difficult to narrow the driving force of those talents, why would photography be any different? I did try and think of one word that describes my passion for photography, but couldn't.----Well, I suppose "Passion" would be a close one for me. I also thought about the word "pasttime" but that really isn't true either, because photography is so much more to me than just passing time. Since I started this, I certainly understand more than I did 3 years ago, of course "theory to practice" is still a challenge, but isn't that what it is all about, the journey. Almost every time I pick up the camera, I learn something new and I love that feeling. So for me, I guess its the process as much as the final product that I enjoy. Though i stiill have much to learn, Photography has made me a much more observant guest on this planet. 3 years ago I couldn't tell you the difference between a common sparrow and a house finch, I didn't know the difference between a sandhill crane and a great blue heron, I didn't know that the moon travels its own diameter every 3 minutes (about)---Since reading, watching and doing, I have learned so much more than "photography" and that I can't define with one word. I suppose I could ramble on, but don't cut yourself short by trying to define this path to one of your friends or loved ones or even to yourself---just sit back and enjoy the ride. As all my Harley friends say " If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand anyway"


I have rambled on enough so I'll close with this last tid-bit:


Tell your daughter to give up that grandbaby for the weekend, and let you take some pictures, put some sunglasses on that baby, set up your lights, and shoot away---You take pictures in the house, at the zoo, in the backyard or wherever else the mood strikes you ---This time will never come again so why not capture it.


Just my two cents worth


Bob
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Well said Bob. Thanks[:)]


Mark

Denise


Did she get her Grandma's hair color....that is a cute little girl...


And of course you could have taken better pictures...

Photography is a hobby for me with some local sales to replace lost lens caps and such. Perhaps when I retire from my day job in 20 years or so, I could see doing it more for extra money. I was a professional Videographer on the weekends throughout college.


Denise, that's a bummer about your photo restrictions. Perhaps you could negotiate, lets say 120 frames/year limit (10 shots a month)anda Holiday exception. It's too bad, because they will really be missing out in the long run and the kids will be missing out too. I think they will come around, just give them a little break for now.


My father was into photography when I was a child and we haddark room in our house when I was growing up and I have a ton of baby pictures to show for it and I really appreciate that now.


I have the opposite problem, my family wants me to bring my camera with me all the time and then they don't stop bugging me for the images (which I admit I am very slow at getting them the images, whereas3-12 months isn't unheard of for me), so now I am more selective in where I bring my kit.


Rich

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Originally Posted by Richard Lane

Denise, that's a bummer about your photo restrictions. Perhaps you could negotiate, lets say 120 frames/year limit (10 shots a month)anda Holiday exception. It's too bad, because they will really be missing out in the long run and the kids will be missing out too. I think they will come around, just give them a little break for now.

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Well, my daughter saw that I posted the photos on flickr so that I could pull them into here and apparently Iwas not allowed to post photos of them either for she publicly posted that I tried to steal creditfor JC Penney's work and that people should maybe doubt all of the photos I have posted as being my own work.I was not trying to do that at alland I hope everyone here or anyone that saw her post knows that what she said is not true. Ihave RAW files to prove it and I statedhere that I did not take those photos.I have removed the photos of her and it looks like photography is pretty expensive for me in a lot of ways ...it has now costed me my reputation!

Hi Denise, sorry to hear this issue is escalating for you. No one in this community doubts you and we know you didn

Your reputation is completely intact here.....I wouldn't worry about that. It is very unfortunate, but it seems that mother-daughter relationships can often be extraordinarily complicated despite the fact that both are good, well intentioned, and intelligent people. Something biological there... My last comment is one I've given several times, but I often find it useful to treat a relationship the way you want it to be, not necessarily how it is at that moment.

Thanks, guys! Life sure takes some crazy turns out of the blue, that

Its a hobby I happen to get paid for.

Photography is a hobby for me.


My passion is aviation.


I learned photography as part of my graduate studies as an Architect in the early 90