Dealing With Burnout as a Professional Photographer

Being a professional photographer is a demanding career that requires you to wear many hats and rarely allows time to catch one's breath. As such, burnout is a common issue among professional photographers. So, when you experience it, what can you do? This excellent video essay features an experienced photographer discussing his experiences with burnout and how he handles it. 

Coming to you from Scott Choucino of Tin House Studio, this great video essay discusses the issue of burnout among professional photographers. If you are an amateur creative or even part-time photographer, you can step away from photography as needed to recharge, but if you are a professional deriving most or all of your income from the craft, you likely do not have that luxury. Nonetheless, there are certainly steps you can take to ease the burden or to provide yourself a bit of relief, and it is important that you do so. We live in a culture that glorifies the grind, but taking that too far can be quite unhealthy and, paradoxically, it can actually make you less productive in the long run, as it diminishes your ability to engage with work for long periods. And more than anything else, we all got into photography because we enjoy it, and it's a shame when that enjoyment gets pushed out. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Choucino. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

Log in or register to post comments
1 Comment

Glad to hear other people are as good at procrastinating as me.