After 38 years of making a living in photography—either behind the camera or directing other photographers—I’ve come to the conclusion that, for many, it might be best to keep photography as a hobby. It’s something I’ve been thinking about of late because photography in recent years has been elevated to such a glamorous career choice. Now it seems everyone wants to be a pro photographer and turn their hobby into a career. So allow me to share a few thoughts about this.
The first thing that struck me after giving this some thought was this: When I look at my favorite photos from the past four decades, the ones that tend to stand out and mean the most to me are the ones I shot for myself, to satisfy my own creative vision and idea exploration.
Don’t get me wrong, making income from photography is fantastic. I’d much rather be loading up the car or jumping on a plane to go to a location for a client to capture images to meet their communication objectives than be sitting in a beige corporate cubicle. Or talking about photography on YouTube. It’s incredibly exciting, even now, to be faced with challenges that must be overcome to get the best images for the job at hand.
But the thing is, even though I’m bringing my ideas, vision, creativity, unique approach, and problem-solving skills to the table, it’s all to meet someone else’s needs and expectations. Often the results are very rewarding and creatively satisfying. Often I’m given total creative freedom to do things my way. To be honest, I’m very fortunate in this regard, but it took many years to get to that position. Yet still, I find when I go out to shoot for myself, it’s a whole other level of creative satisfaction. Why is that?
Here are three thoughts:
Creative Freedom
I believe I have more creative freedom than most photographers, from the relatively unique way I’ve built my business over the years—a topic for another article—but I still crave MORE creative freedom.
When you shoot for yourself, as a hobby, it’s fun to experiment with new techniques, explore different styles, and really push the status quo without the underlying pressure of meeting someone else’s expectations.
There is one genre of photography I’ve tried to keep as a hobby, so I can maintain the joy, freedom, and personal fulfillment it provides. And that’s landscape photography.
In my late twenties, I was given a dream assignment: to produce a 12-month calendar for one of Canada’s largest banks. Every month had a double-page spread, and I proposed a series of Rocky Mountain landscape photos, one for each month. At the time, I was traveling to the Rockies often to pursue my love of mountain photography as a hobby and had a good stock library of images. As I worked on this project, I realized there were certain images I needed to complete the set, and more traveling was required to get them. Suddenly, I went from traveling to shoot landscapes without any pressure to traveling to get specific images within a limited timeframe. Now, casually exploring my artistic expression was out the window. Traveling around looking for good compositions was less relaxing and fun. I had to find and deliver the right images for a job, with the clock ticking—and hope the weather cooperated.
Even though the calendar was a huge deal, and millions were printed and distributed across the country, I decided I didn’t want to turn landscape photography into a business moving forward. This genre was going to be reserved for me for unwinding and relaxation, free from timelines and pressure. It was reserved for my own creative freedom and enjoyment.
Financial Pressure
When photography becomes a business, financial pressure steps in. You now start worrying about making a profit to pay the bills, finding clients, and meeting deadlines.
When photographing as a hobby, there is none of that. You can focus entirely on pursuing your passion without the pressure of monetization. Bliss.
Making art to make ends meet is rarely a good proposition. Selling prints or books isn’t sustainable—you need clients. In my case, corporate clients, brands, and tourism organizations.
Hobby Versus Work, Amateur Versus Pro
If you go from amateur to professional, your source of relaxation and enjoyment is no more. Your hobby was your break from your professional life. Your “me time.”
Photography as a hobby is a form of stress release. Photography as a profession can be a source of stress.
Of course, you can shoot for clients and for yourself. I know many photographers who shoot a few genres professionally and a few purely for fun. I keep landscapes and street photography as my hobby and travel, lifestyle, food, and environmental portraits as my work. I must admit, though, the lines are often blurred. It’s hard to get out of work mode sometimes.
The best thing about photography being a hobby is you can dedicate your time to personal projects that genuinely interest and inspire you. The intrinsic joy of creating something purely for yourself can be incredibly fulfilling. Professional photographers have to prioritize client assignments and are often left little time for personal projects.
Professionals spend most of their time doing non-creative things like marketing, meeting with clients, and administrative tasks. Amateurs can spend all their time being creative with their camera.
Conclusion
Keeping photography as a hobby preserves the joy, creativity, and freedom that drew you to photography in the first place. Without the pressures of income generation and business tasks, you can focus on exploring your passion and creativity, creating a body of work that is meaningful to you.
Being a professional photographer can be a wonderful career if you’re willing to work harder than the next guy and have some entrepreneurial flair. You need to understand, and enjoy, business. It’s highly competitive, so you need to work hard and smart. You need to put in the hours, and for many, this can be tricky if you have a family. Maintaining a work-life balance and avoiding burnout can be a big issue. And here’s the thing with burnout: It simply means you’re doing something you don’t enjoy.
I love earning a living from my camera and have found that carving out time for personal projects works well. I should state, though, I don’t need to work as hard as when I started; I have more time now for personal projects. It took a long time to get there!
For many, the benefits of maintaining photography as a hobby far outweigh the potential financial rewards of turning it into a profession.
Photography, I believe, ultimately should be something you enjoy.
Have you turned your hobby into a business? Are you considering doing so? Let’s continue the discussion in the comments.
I turned it to a part-time business and happy to leave it at that! The more of the business tasks I do, the least I like photography.
A sensible solution. 🙂
That’s very true. I found myself at this crossroads (pro vs. amateur) about 15 years ago and decided to stay an amateur for many of the reasons you mention in your article.
The only part I slightly disagree with is when you say, “Amateurs can spend all their time being creative with their camera.” Staying an amateur also means living with the frustration of not having enough time for photography. All those valuable instincts and the trained eye that come from shooting all day long are harder, in my opinion, to develop as an amateur.
Thanks for your input Patrick. Yes, those with a 9-5 job, and a family too, do have the challenge of finding time to pursue photography. You are correct, as a pro, constantly composing images and lighting subjects does give an advantage in terms of developing skills faster. I think I take that for granted. For most, I'm sure retirement is when photography skills jump forward a few levels, and people improve their craft.