Do You Ever Ask Yourself: 'Why Photography?'

Do You Ever Ask Yourself: 'Why Photography?'

The easiest answer to "why do photography?" would be "money." But, if that's not the case, have you ever taken the time to ask yourself if photography is the right thing for you, what you get out of it, and what your reason is for doing it in the first place?

When you look through photographers' bios on their websites or social media accounts, more often than not, you will encounter the generic "I fell into photography when I was given my first camera, and next thing, I knew it became my biggest passion in life," or a similar story with a few altered variables. Or, it might be an equally similar scenario where the photographer proclaims their desire to document beautiful moments in life, which is a statement saying everything with the right words but not actually anything of substance, which I have been partially guilt of myself! 

So, why is it important for us to ask ourselves: "why do photography?" Can't we just go through the motions of life and enjoy it for what it is — the so-called passion, perhaps a fleeting hobby for some, a statement or status, something to fill the void? Do we necessarily need to justify what we are doing and what the true reasons are?

If our one and only motivation and reason for doing photography is money, it's easy to justify why we get out of bed, pack that bag full of gear, and go do our job. If we aren't necessarily motivated by money, I believe it is beneficial to put some time aside to dig deep and ask these questions to yourself. When it comes to personal photography, analyzing your actions and motivations will help you compartmentalize what you are doing in photography, stop you from getting distracted, and retain this passion or interest for as long as possible.

As with every job in this industry and elsewhere, once we know the reason for the job, we know if it's for us, we know how to do it, and we know the end product or goal, too. The same applies to personal photography: if you know why you are doing it and if you have an end goal in mind, you will keep your focus, although the motivation may need some work from time to time, as it does in all fields of life. This will also save you money and time spent trying to perfect your photography skills in areas that don't actually give you any emotional rewards.

For example, in my personal work, I am using photography as a way to express how I feel, how I see the world, or to highlight a specific cause or topic. I used to think that photographers need to do it all and know it all, which resulted in me spreading myself too thin. Instead, I've come to terms with how I want to use photography in my personal work, and because of that, I do not try to appease everyone or to fit everyone's standards, because it is impossible and unhealthy. Instead, I focus on variously sized projects I set for myself that all fall within my reasoning for doing photography and keep me from wasting time doing it to appeal to someone else or to someone else's idea.

If you are still unsure about your reasons for doing photography, you can start by asking yourself: "am I trying to impress a certain someone or a certain group," "am I doing this to attract likes, comments, or any other public attention online," "am I doing this to please myself regardless of what anyone else thinks," "am I doing this because I enjoy the technical aspects of using a camera," "am I doing this to fit in with a certain group or individual," "do I actually get anything positive out of doing photography," and "do I think this is only a temporary interest?" The sooner you understand your true reasons for doing photography, the sooner you will be able to channel your efforts in the right direction, whichever direction that might be. 

If you go months or years without questioning yourself, it is likely that you will end up feeling unfulfilled and fail to find a purpose to keep doing it. Even if that purpose is to simply document your travel memories without going any further into the technical aspects or artistic merits of photography, you will know exactly what you are looking for when you turn that camera on. There is no shame in admitting your real reason for pursuing photography, and you do not need to pursue it a certain way just because others may expect it from you or pressure you, or you may feel obliged from seeing what kind of photographic work receives the most attention online. It is very easy to fall into this trap. 

All in all, take a moment to ask yourself what that drive is that urges you to pick up your camera every time. Take notice of it and own it your way. It's fine to learn new skills or techniques along the way, but if you have no purpose for your photography, you will not be able to apply any of them, because you will end up putting that camera down for good. Just take a minute today to think about what photography brings into your life and how it brings you to life. What would you answer?

Anete Lusina's picture

Anete Lusina is a photographer based in West Yorkshire, UK. You'll either find her shooting weddings, documentary, or street photography across the U.K. and Europe, or perhaps doing the occasional conceptual shoot.

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8 Comments

If I'd wanted to earn money I'd have found a proper job.
I do this because I never want to have the feeling that I have to work. I get to play with cool toys, get to be creative and out of all, I get to work when I want to. Not 9 to 5.

I didn't pick photography . It picked me.

I'm going be the guy who says money. After all my other responsibilities I have maybe an hour and a half a day in which to earn a living. I can't think of many other jobs than photography where that would be possible. I don't have the passion or the time to get particularly good at it but it pays for my real passions.

That is definitely a good enough reason and it's great to be able to admit it; I find some people get sucked in and have no real idea how and why. The fact that you know this is your way of enabling your other passions is great.

Interesting article, Anete, and I've had to come to my own realisation of my focus for taking photos. I particularly like street photography and I've realised that for me, as a relatively shy person, it's a substitute way of interacting with people I find interesting. Observing other humans and getting close to them to capture something of their "essence" (how pompous does that sound!) gives me a feeling of connection to humanity that is missing in my daily life, because I work alone in my real job so there's a high degree of isolation.

Shooting street photos gets me out and moving amongst others. It's always energising. I'm less bothered by what others think of my shots - if I like them, I like them. Others are allowed their own opinion and their own opinion doesn't have to be one I accept. I can learn from those opinions, but I don't want to be swayed by them.

For that reason I would hate to be a pro photographer, having to churn out work to satisfy others.

I was about to answer with "because I'm a creative" but then I remembered that I HATE that appropriation of the word creativity... So, it is/was because I am an artist. This was not a choice. This was how my cells joined up into who I am. Over many years I've created interesting or beautiful (to me) furniture out of common or exotic woods, turned burl into bowl on a lathe, built custom Harley choppers and participated in outlaw life (oh how I loved the 80's and sex/drugs/rock'n'roll), etc. During all of that I almost always held a paintbrush to paper. But I never committed to the bohemian ethos that I should struggle and starve to make a point about how artistic I am. Ergo, always held a day job, the thing that brought income and allowed me to afford my own home instead of clustering up in a crash pad with "like-minded artists." Problem is, I got pretty good at the job thingy... and less time remained for painting (my pieces generally took about 80 hrs on average). So I thought... "Let's use photography as the creative outlet - why, it should take much less time, be much more instantly gratifying, etc., etc."
HA! Most of you fellow photogs know of what I speak, right? Travel time, repeat visits to finally get the shot that was envisioned, post-production time, and so on. But I love it, it is the tool for expression that I now use. And there's MY answer...

As an amateur it is striving for a wow factor pro-level shot, despite having a lowly D7200, whether landscape, portrait or wildlife. I reckon in the last four years I can number two or three that hit the spot for me. Advances in mobile cameras make me take less and less family and holiday snaps. As you say, find your niche, and for me that is increasingly wildlife, from butterfles with a macro lens to birds in flight with a semi-expensive telephoto. My favourite is the Nikon 300mm f4 PF. It is so light I can keep it with me all the time. Here is my best effort in 2019 (ok, not pro level but I like it!).

I was applying for a photography position recently, and up to now I've only worked in education. At one point the interviewers said to me, "you've got such a teacher aura, and from your answers we can tell you enjoy your work. So... Why are you here? Why are you trying to be a photographer?" It wasn't a question I was expecting (one of many tbh), but I told them honestly, "teaching does bring me fulfillment sometimes. It's not my passion, but if i had to do it for the rest of my life, well, there are worse places to be stuck. But in teaching, my happiness depends on my students and coworkers, on other people. With photography, my happiness depends on myself."
It's not the best answer, but I surprised myself even in saying it, and yeah, I'm glad I was asked that question.
(No, I didn't get the job)