# Is Photography your Hobby, Passion or Profession.



## Grandpa Ron (Feb 2, 2021)

As I read the comments to some of the post, I am sometime taken aback or confused by the intensity of some of the comments; though I find most quite interesting. The comments often express viewpoints I had never thought of.

In my view; digital, film, post processing, dark room, fine lenses and technical skills are simply various ways to make good pictures. However, I find all this comes second to content.

I attribute this to the fact that I am a photographic hobbyist. I enjoy tinkering with pinhole cameras, my old cut film and 35 mm cameras, as much as my far easier to use digital. 

This raised the question in my mind, how many people reading the board find photography to be their hobby, their passion or their profession?

This is not a quiz, just shear curiosity.


----------



## Original katomi (Feb 2, 2021)

Hobby, and passion
Photography allowed me to express myself 
Digital allows me to push the limits of my kit and my ability 
See my tag line


----------



## Ysarex (Feb 2, 2021)

All of the above.


----------



## Rickbb (Feb 2, 2021)

Started out several decades ago as all 3, after a few jobs decided I hated the business end of it and preferred to make art with a camera to please myself.


----------



## Jeff15 (Feb 2, 2021)

My hobby for many many years........


----------



## Space Face (Feb 2, 2021)

Expensive hobby.


----------



## Geenphoto (Feb 2, 2021)

Figure I downgraded from passion to hobby but I can still get my blood boiling again if I had someone to about photography with again. 


Sent from Mordor using an iPhone.


----------



## Photo Lady (Feb 2, 2021)

Hobby, and passion and now addiction.. i wish i had this hobby  earlier in life... it amazes me how it opens your eyes to beauty that was just taken for granted.


----------



## webestang64 (Feb 2, 2021)

Hobby since 1980.
Profession since 1985.
Passion forever.


----------



## PJM (Feb 3, 2021)

Hobby!


----------



## CherylL (Feb 3, 2021)

Hobby.  I too wish I started earlier.   Hats off to those that do this professionally with the business side and dealing with people.


----------



## nokk (Feb 3, 2021)

mainly a hobby/passion.  and also a bit of a side business selling photos locally.


----------



## dxqcanada (Feb 3, 2021)

Used to be hobby, passion, employment (selling), passion, hobby ... now I just fix cameras, I haven't really taken any pictures for many months ... I am over it now.


----------



## Winona (Feb 3, 2021)

Hobby and passion. Wouldn’t mind making a few bucks with it to pay for my gear. Lol. Glad I have it. Had to give up my prior passion of horseback riding due to spinal arthritis, so I grabbed the camera out of its bag and finally started to learn how to use it!


----------



## smoke665 (Feb 4, 2021)

At some point in my life, all three.


----------



## 407370 (Feb 4, 2021)

Passion and hobby. I love all forms of digital art and have tried music and video over the years but stills photography has been a part of my life since childhood.


----------



## petrochemist (Feb 4, 2021)

Passion/hobby for me.
I feel I should put them in that order as I go far beyond many other hobbyists. Tinkering with adapted lenses, infra-red & UV photography as well as most of the usual photographic genres.
I'll even explore a little the idea of building my own optics, hacking hardware & using alternate processes, but sadly have had time to follow up most of these.

The only money I've made from photography has been from sitting in front of the camera for advertisements all of which was a LONG time ago when I looked more photogenic.


----------



## John Fantastic (Feb 5, 2021)

Hobby and passion


----------



## mjcmt (Feb 5, 2021)

Hobby that I can't get enough of.


----------



## James Mitchell CPP (Feb 9, 2021)

Photography is my both Passionate and Professionalization, in also both Film and Digital, indeed!!! Love Film and Digital Photography, very Passionate and Professionally!!!


----------



## SquarePeg (Feb 9, 2021)

Most of the time it’s a hobby. My passion for it comes and goes.  Lately it’s my therapy.  Nothing brings me peace and inner calm like an hour or two of quiet exploring with my camera.


----------



## SquarePeg (Feb 9, 2021)

dxqcanada said:


> Used to be hobby, passion, employment (selling), passion, hobby ... now I just fix cameras, I haven't really taken any pictures for many months ... I am over it now.



I have gone through times like that and always end up having something spark my interest again, whether it’s seeing an inspiring photo or a request from a friend to shoot an event or just a random idea of something I have to try to create.


----------



## Rand Tapscott (Feb 9, 2021)

Passion as a young boy, then profession for 26 yrs now hobby.  So glad I had the experience when you had to trust you instincts instead of having immediate viewing.  While it is nice to not have to tape up doors on hotel bathrooms to load sheet film or spend hours in a darkroom, the immediacy of the art has taken some of the magic away.  On the other hand, I cannot imagine today having to go through airport security with 6-15 cases of equipment and film.  The digital world dropped that count to couple of cases a tripod tube.


----------



## DaveAllen (Feb 9, 2021)

It's my profession, and as others have mentioned the passion comes and goes at times.  Nothing I'd rather be doing for a living though, unless one of you knows how I can make a living driving go karts


----------



## Susan Will (Feb 9, 2021)

Hobby nothing better then to take a ride with your camera and totally relax!


----------



## ElizaMM (Feb 11, 2021)

Digital photography allows me to experiment cost-free;  I don't regret yesterday's multiple bad shots on a rural walk - mistakes teach you what to avoid in future. With film (which I am not disparaging - I have shots of relatives from the 1800s that I could not match in quality that are tack sharp) experimentation can be very expensive.


----------



## paigew (Feb 11, 2021)

All of the above for me


----------



## johngpt (Feb 11, 2021)

Most of my day is spent doing something related to photography although I've never made any money at it.


----------



## RichieS (Feb 12, 2021)

All of the above, with a minor exception that mine is a semi-pro rather than full blown profession


----------



## TexOkie (Apr 18, 2021)

It’s primarily a hobby, but from time to time it becomes a passion. I would never have the courage to try to make it a profession. 

I’ve been shooting photographs since 1968 when I acquired my first SLR. over the years I’ve upgraded cameras and lenses and now use a Canon 80D. I seem to have focus issues since I now have an eye disorder that makes the world fuzzy, and I would like to figure out how to resolve those issues. I had hoped an autofocus camera would take care of it, but it only seems to have added to the frustration. I long for the days with my old AE1 Program and a split image focusing screen.


----------



## smoke665 (Apr 18, 2021)

TexOkie said:


> It’s primarily a hobby, but from time to time it becomes a passion. I would never have the courage to try to make it a profession.
> 
> I’ve been shooting photographs since 1968 when I acquired my first SLR. over the years I’ve upgraded cameras and lenses and now use a Canon 80D. I seem to have focus issues since I now have an eye disorder that makes the world fuzzy, and I would like to figure out how to resolve those issues. I had hoped an autofocus camera would take care of it, but it only seems to have added to the frustration. I long for the days with my old AE1 Program and a split image focusing screen.



I feel your pain. I had a lot of issues up until cataract surgery about 3 years ago. Couldn't believe how much brighter the world was, whites were actually white....not yellow. LOL Basically fixed everything except close up vision, still need glasses for that only. Now however, I suspect that I may have scar tissue intruding, had it about a year ago, but they were able to use a laser to clear it away. The joy of getting older.

Regardless of your eye issues a couple things that might help. Go to a tripod, use the Live View. Most cameras will let you zoom or magnify the image so you can then focus on a specific point in manual. Or another other option is to adjust the viewfinder or diopter for your particular vision. Finally you can rely on the auto focus. I've had to do all three at one point or another.


----------



## TexOkie (Apr 18, 2021)

smoke665 said:


> TexOkie said:
> 
> 
> > It’s primarily a hobby, but from time to time it becomes a passion. I would never have the courage to try to make it a profession.
> ...


Thank you for your comments.

I had cataract surgery 2 years ago almost to the day. I can testify to how much better I see as far as brightness and purity of color. Before everything was a dingy drab yellow.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the end of my vision issues. I have keratoconus in both eye. I wear hard scleral lenses to help, but they only partially correct the problem. Keratoconus is like astigmatism on steroids. When I look at the moon at night, I see six distinctively sharp images of the moon, all overlapping in an asymmetrical pattern.

The keratoconus makes focusing very difficult. I pretty much have to set the camera on a tripod and use live view zoomed in to manually focus. I can’t do that for any type of shot that isn’t static.

But, I keep trying.


----------



## smoke665 (Apr 18, 2021)

TexOkie said:


> I can’t do that for any type of shot that isn’t static.



Over the years, Face Detect focus has become my best friend.


----------



## bestazy (Apr 27, 2021)

Hobby. I don't think I have a natural eye for photography in the way I need to in order to be successful. I also don't really have the patience to learn the technical know-how to be a well-trained professional. Absorbing information is a little difficult for me and can take me a really long time, so I tend to only focus on learning what I need to in the moment to get an outcome that I'm happy with.


----------



## Douglas Brown (Apr 27, 2021)

Photography has been a hobby since the 1970's (so I must be passionate about it, too) and I've sold many images, but it has never been my primary source of income.


----------



## jeffashman (Apr 27, 2021)

Hobby since the mid-70’s when my Grossvater gave me his old Agfa half-frame 35mm. It’s become more of a passion since the start of lockdown. Post processing and just looking at photos has replaced gaming for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## luckypiglive (May 31, 2021)

Grandpa Ron said:


> As I read the comments to some of the post, I am sometime taken aback or confused by the intensity of some of the comments; though I find most quite interesting. The comments often express viewpoints I had never thought of.
> 
> In my view; digital, film, post processing, dark room, fine lenses and technical skills are simply various ways to make good pictures. However, I find all this comes second to content.
> 
> ...



Me I do it as a hobby. I like to capture beautiful moments with my mobile, and I edit them later to relax and see them from a different angle.


----------



## flyingPhoto (May 31, 2021)

Therapy.  No sense in trying to make it a business.


----------



## VectorASU23 (Jun 5, 2021)

It's a hobby. I just started getting into photography. Hopefully in the future it will became a side gig


----------



## flyingPhoto (Jun 5, 2021)

VectorASU23 said:


> It's a hobby. I just started getting into photography. Hopefully in the future it will became a side gig


95% of people who want to become paid photographers would find better luck in earning a living as a gigilo.

takes a bit to much in the modern climate to become paid.


----------



## Grandpa Ron (Jun 6, 2021)

I never thought of becoming a gigolo, but I do not think my wife would have approved.   

I did however briefly consider becoming a country music star. (a right fine banjo picker) However, this lost out to 33 years of engineering.  

My career paid for a lot of my hobbies.


----------



## flyingPhoto (Jun 6, 2021)

Grandpa Ron said:


> I never thought of becoming a gigolo, but I do not think my wife would have approved.
> 
> I did however briefly consider becoming a country music star. (a right fine banjo picker) However, this lost out to 33 years of engineering.
> 
> My career paid for a lot of my hobbies.


Its just that the idea of becoming a paid photographer is sort of like all the old job advertisements back in 2001 to 2015 i ever saw for residential construction jobs 

must own crew cab pickup with extended bed and cap, and own all tools needed for the job, including specialty tools.  

and the cost does seem the same really to have the toys needed to be considered good enough to be labeled a photographer.


----------



## smoke665 (Jun 7, 2021)

flyingPhoto said:


> 95% of people who want to become paid photographers would find better luck in earning a living as a gigilo.
> 
> takes a bit to much in the modern climate to become paid.



I'd  mostly disagree with this. It depends on your definition of photography. If you limit the field yes, but it's a big world out there. Last time I checked there are still many job opportunities for photographers in forensics, medical and product. Newspapers, magazines and online media still hire photographers. I see ads every so often for school/sports photographers. Depending on the field and "other" supporting experience they pay anywhere from 30 to over 100k a year.

Photography is no different than other fields of employment, not everyone can be a famous fashion photographer, but that doesnt mean you can't get paid as a photographer.


----------



## Grandpa Ron (Jun 7, 2021)

I have the feeling that Smoke is right. When we think of being a photographer it usually engenders pleasant  thoughts of what we would like to shoot. Not the fact that the job often dictates the location and shot.

A wildlife photographer is probably not dreaming of sitting in a office, reviewing his latest photos of the concrete structural details for the containment areas, for wildlife preserve contract they just landed. Or, tracking through some mosquito infested swamp to show the damage being done by some little known boring insect. But someone was to do it.

These are the extremes of course, but few folk have the luxury of turning down work.


----------



## BasilFawlty (Jun 7, 2021)

Grandpa Ron said:


> As I read the comments to some of the post, I am sometime taken aback or confused by the intensity of some of the comments; though I find most quite interesting. The comments often express viewpoints I had never thought of.
> 
> In my view; digital, film, post processing, dark room, fine lenses and technical skills are simply various ways to make good pictures. However, I find all this comes second to content.
> 
> ...


For me - the first two.  I am a tinkerer who loves gadgets and gear, but I also have a creative streak.  Photography scratches both of those itches for me.


----------



## snowbear (Jun 7, 2021)

smoke665 said:


> I'd  mostly disagree with this. It depends on your definition of photography. If you limit the field yes, but it's a big world out there. Last time I checked there are still many job opportunities for photographers in forensics, medical and product. Newspapers, magazines and online media still hire photographers. I see ads every so often for school/sports photographers. Depending on the field and "other" supporting experience they pay anywhere from 30 to over 100k a year.
> 
> Photography is no different than other fields of employment, not everyone can be a famous fashion photographer, but that doesnt mean you can't get paid as a photographer.


I applied for one of those photographer position once.  Well, OK, it was an Evidence Technician position but I would have had to photograph the crime scenes I was sent on.

I didn't get it.


----------



## smoke665 (Jun 7, 2021)

snowbear said:


> applied for one of those photographer position once. Well, OK, it was an Evidence Technician position but I would have had to photograph the crime scenes I was sent on.
> 
> I didn't get it.


Back in the early 70's I did some legal work to supplement my income. The legal work paid well, especially the medical malpractice cases. Also in our county, the sheriff dept didn't have the budget for a full time photographer so they used a few of us scattered around the county to cover for them on the high profile cases. Those didn't pay enough for the memories I still have of some of the more gruesome ones I got called out on.


----------



## catherinescaughtcreations (Jun 10, 2021)

Original katomi said:


> Hobby, and passion
> Photography allowed me to express myself
> Digital allows me to push the limits of my kit and my ability
> See my tag line


It's very true photography is a passion it also helps me to express myself, but I am only a beginner photographer but I fully enjoy doing it.


----------



## Grandpa Ron (Jun 29, 2021)

Gaura, It sounds like you have the incessant diddle's gene. It is both a curse and a blessing.

However, you never run out of things to do.


----------



## StephenBatey (Jul 3, 2021)

For me, a hobby since 1957, becoming more serious when I got my first enlarger in 1961. These days I'm sometimes asked if I'm a professional (I never have been) and I usually reply "No, no one could pay me enough to carry this around" - I use large format cameras!


----------



## cdd29 (Jul 14, 2021)

I've done some professional work in the past and do a side job here and there but it's primarily a hobby since high school.


----------



## cabledawg (Aug 18, 2021)

Expensive hobby that's kinda turned into a passion and who knows, maybe a profession.  But right now, I take pictures for myself and the occasional event.  But I've never been paid for my work.  I do it because I enjoy it.


----------



## NS: Nikon Shooter (Aug 18, 2021)

Grandpa Ron said:


> Is Photography your Hobby, Passion or Profession.



All of the above… would't have it any other way!


----------

