on the fence

[Namie]

I've enjoyed photography since I first held a camera in my hands. I love it when my pictures come out good and hate it when they don't. I even enjoy the post processing (although that's definitely been a learning curve for me). I'm trying to decide if I want to do more with my photography than just have it as an expensive hobby.

I am currently working for a school district in their ap office. I have 3 boys (15, 9. 8) and a supportive husband. One of my concerns is that if I were to do photography as a full time job that it would lose some of the joy it holds for me. I decided to get a little more formal and am taking a photography class at the local junior college. It's definitely an art class, and not a "how to" class - but I'm loving it. Now I can officially make time for taking pictures because it's "homework"

Has anyone else had the same concern? Did you find that how much you enjoyed photography more/less if you went professional? If you went professional, what kind of photography did you decide on pursuing & why? I'm in the DFW area and it seems like there are a lot of photographers, so that adds to my concern level about possibly doing more with it.

I appreciate any thoughts/feedback.

[Paulo]

Hi Naomi. Looking forward to seeing some of your work.

I'm not one with a wealth of knowledge in the subject. But here's my opinion.

I believe it all depends on how you choose to approach it. Personally, it started out as a hobby I simply enjoyed. Now, as I'm constantly trying to develop & improve professionally, I love photography even more. The more I learned, the more I experience I gained through mistakes/hardship/trial&error, the more I humbly listened/shadowed other photographers regardless of expertise level...the more I'm convinced, I've made the right decision. I accepted that I had to put in my time, just like everyone else.

I have a different fulltime job currently while I occassionally land a paying photography gig. But none the less, I put in the best effort my current skill level and available software/equipment will allow me to present. And because I love capturing emotions with my camera, I chose to mostly do wedding related photography and some street photography/portraiture. I stuck with what felt most natural.
Not sure if I answered your question at all but there are some great people on this forum. And I imagine they can give you a better response to your quesiton.

[xjben]

You could always pick up the occasional customer, or even ramp it up to where you have one or two per week. Then you can see what you like, how much business you think you can attract, and go from there. There are a lot of photographers out there, but a lot of customers too...so, if you have good results, you should be able to attract business.

[Angelo]

Naomi, the feeling you express I've felt thoughout my life. I've been obsessed with photography since the late 50s. There were several chances in my life to go professional and the same thoughts you've expressed came to mind, "Will I lose the love of photography if it was my livelihood?" I was always being told that my images were good enough to win contests and my abilities were so that I could have made a good living from it.

But I chose another road and kept photography as my escape. I don't know if I made the wrong decision or not. I guess I'll never know, but I am glad when I can get away from my worldly problems and immerse myself with this wonderful obsession. My wife thinks I'm crazy...

What I am trying to tell you is that it's a choice you have to make. Once you make it go full blast and never look back, and this goes for whichever choice you make.

Good luck to you,
Angelo

[Namie]

Thanks for the replies. I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only person that's felt this way.

I am probably in a good old fashioned mid life crisis of sorts. The reality is that my kids are old enough to be fairly independent, and I finally have time to put myself on the priority list. When I first decided to splurge and spend a good chunk of our tax refund one year to get a good digital camera, I thought my husband was going to have a heart attack (I chose a camera over a new living room set - and the living room set was one my parents had given us and was oh....15ish years old). That was kind of the beginning of this adventure for me. I have had film cameras off & on for years (and still have lots of undeveloped film - yikes! ). But I wanted it, and I've loved it. When I figure out how to post pictures, I'll share some of my work.

So anyway, the kids are older, I've got more time to devote to this, and I went back to school. I LOVE taking pictures but I don't ever want to lose that joy - yet taking great photos gives me joy.

I'm going to try and take a portrait class here soon - I'm thinking that I might try and start building a portfolio by taking some senior pictures of the local kids. I'll do post processing, and burn them to a cd for them - and give them reprint rights - in exchange for using it to build a portfolio. Then if I decide to do something else with my photography I won't be starting at ground zero.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my post. I truly appreciate it.