Are you into photography for your own pleasure....

full pleasure at the moment.

i dont think i will ever cut the mustard to earn enough to quit work.

but if i could make some pennies along the way to help with kit and whatever that would be great..

:thumbs:


decent thread this one


md:thumbs:
 
totally pleasure for me

its the enjoyment of improving at something (or not as the case may be! :D) as I've only started with a DSLR this year
 
got into it after my mrs went digital. never been into the a***ing about with film solutions n stuff.
when she set up rainbow photography i went along to weddings as assistant and goffer.
i started taking the odd shot on the backup camera , and shortly ended up with my own.
as time went by , i progressed to second shooter , and now we sell our services as a two tog package.
ive got my head round the technical side of things thanks to my gifted other half.and i realy enjoy the banter , and working with people at ewddings especialy. (gives me chance to use my big gob).
since then i do all sorts of stuff with the camera. for the biz, and my own entertainment.
i dont worry about others opinions much. if i like the stuff i do, or theyre good enough to get into the wedding albums , i'm happy.
the keeper/bin ratio has improved drasticalyy with all the practice too.
 
Pleasure & Showing Off. :)

Like someone else said, doing it professionally would never earn me as much money as my 'normal' job, but making a few bob on the side would be nice.
 
Entirely for my own pleasure! I don't have a hope in hell of earning anything from my photos, but that doesn't stop me enjoying it and getting satisfaction when I manage to pull off a half-decent shot!

Chris
 
Chicks dig big lenses. :D

Hahah, you pimp. Thats the only reason you purchased the 120-300 wasnt it :lol:

First and foremost i take pcitures for myself becuase its my hobby. I enjoy it which is the main thing. I have had a number of paying jobs including a wedding which have all gone well which is a bonus to earn some cash and have good shots for your portfolio.

I would love to do it for a job but i dont think im good enough yet.
 
Chicks dig big lenses. :D

Its what you do with it that counts. They wanna be famous.

I do it mainly for me, I'm very self conscious about either A) looking a showoff with fancy equipment or B) Showing people pictures that they'd consider unusual. I got a lot of stick at school for wanting to take pics that weren't the average vernacular photos.
 
I find it is something I can be creative at without getting frustrated. I like feedback and its always nice to go to a friends house and see your pics up!
 
Photography has been my life since my early teenage, and will never lose it's magic for me, I made a living in photography for more than thirty years, and now I'm retired I spend even more time shooting film, my wife who is also an ex- pro ( she only married me to share my lenses) is the same, once you're hooked on it, its for life
 
I have a creative itch that I have to scratch.

The bonus is that it gets me out of the house and away from the 'puter every now and then :)
 
I have always owned a camera but really wanted to master the art of photography so at the age of 38 i decided to take two years out of working a do a BTEC National Diploma studying photography full time at college. I am now just starting my second year and its great but really hard at the same time.
 
For pleasure for me, although not always pleasurable when things don’t quite turn out how you plan them :bang: :D

Saying that, I just started uploading photographs onto 2 stock agency site and if by some remote change I ever sell one then great. I have a boring day job so no pressure to sell.
 
I take pictures for pleasure, the fact some people like to pay me is a bonus. 99% of the shoots I do I would do anyway even if I wasn't getting paid (don't tell my clients that though :eek:).
 
For me, for now it's a hobby, something to enjoy learning to master and a good reason to get out on long walks.
I am considering doing some college courese in photography and also perhaps a C&G course.
I've been stuck in the electronics / IT industry for over 20 years and I really have had enough of it.
I'd like a complete change of career and photography is the only subject that has inspired me into something I would dearly love to be able to earn an honest crust from.
It's going to take quite a long time before I am anywhere near a proffesional (if it ever happens).

Maybe it's just a mid-life crisis for me but I've been told often enough over the years to 'realise your dreams' so we will see what happens over the next few years.
 
Definately for pleasure. I have done a couple of wedding recently which whilst good experience I wouldn't say I enjoyed nor do I think I would do one again. I think if I took up photography to make money the enjoyment I get out of it would soon go.
 
I make money from shooting sports, but i choose to only pick the sports i want - not necessarily the ones that make the most money. it's important to me to enjoy what I'm doing but also to make some money from photography.
 
I took up photography as a serious hobby 32 years ago basically to record the world around me,over the years that has been my family,the preserved Steam trains that I love my amateur football team and the beautiful areas of this country I have been lucky enough to visit.
I have been fortunate enough to make a few quid from weddings over the years but I still take photographs because I love doing it,yes its nice when other people compliment you and its nice if you get paid but I will hang up the cameras the day I stop getting enjoyment from pressing that shutter release
 
For a while i always said to my wife "that would make a lovely picture" and never had a camera to prove the point so to speak, so i bought a camera that was within my budget and off i went, anywhere and everywhere clicking and uploading to my laptop bursting to see the results (sharp got a bit fed up of the disappointing ones lol)
but there was the odd one or two that i thought "wow" thats a nice pic and as an example of that i took 37 pictures of swans on our local river and only really got 2 pictures that i really liked, and that sums it up for me. it gets me out an about when i would probably sit at home vegetating in front of the TV. I may not be the best photographer in the world, but its MY pleasure :)
 
Pleasure. But making money on the side is definitely a plus. :) I hope to one day take this hobby that I love so much to the next level and do it full time. Here's to wishful thinking.
 
It's always been a pleasure and if I can make some money from it then so much the better. If I can't then it'll still be a pleasure.
 
It's just a hobby at the moment but who knows maybe some day I might be able make some shillings out of it....
 
All of them I suppose, however I'm nowhere near good enough to make a living/money, I don't know anyone else in my circle who takes it seriously enough to chat for hours about it and I only get about 1 out of 100 pictures which I would feel happy showing anyone.
Now why do I do this? :shrug: :D

Andy

Oh I remember, its because that 1 out of 100 that is good makes me feel on top of the world. :thumbs:
 
Purely as a hobby for me. Not really counting on making a living out of it, even though I'd love to.
 
I do it as a hobby/for fun

i get to meet loads of new people and i enjoy what i shoot (motorsports) and its good to meet the people involved (drivers/riders) and so on.

i could use them to "show off" but dont feel the need, people can say my pics look great but that doesnt make me want to show off, more to take some of equal quality the next time i am out and about

i want to do more than just motorsports though, going to look more into landscapes if possible in the near future and possibly other bits
 
All of them I suppose, however I'm nowhere near good enough to make a living/money, I don't know anyone else in my circle who takes it seriously enough to chat for hours about it and I only get about 1 out of 100 pictures which I would feel happy showing anyone.
Now why do I do this? :shrug: :D

Andy

Oh I remember, its because that 1 out of 100 that is good makes me feel on top of the world. :thumbs:

I'm thinking of going for a walk in the Lake District on Friday (weather permitting) and thus using up my memory card's full complement of 900+ shots :thumbs:

So based on your principle, I should get about 9 decent photos :D
 
I do it because, to paraphrase The Sun, I luv it!

Digital's made a huge difference for me. In the dim and distant I had a film SLRs but not the resources to take the number of images or the discipline to write down the details of each shot so that I could understand what had gone wrong. I've had my D40x for sixteen months and I'm still developing and enjoying it all.

I'm even looking forward to the evenings drawing in so that I can restart taking noir street shots like I did last winter.

I don't think I'd enjoy it anywhere near as much if it was a job.
 
I always wanted to paint, never was much good at it, so I use photography to take it's place. I really enjoy going for walks taking photos.
Of course, it would be nice to make some cash out of it, but, personally, I think it would take the pleasure out of it, if I was a pro tog.

Bazzer

I am the same as you I always wanted to paint but was not very good so took up photography.

Pete
 
I've always taken family snaps to record the moment...Christmas, holidays, births etc, but I now see it more as a true hobby. It's great when someone else likes my images....but in reality, I still take them to record a moment in time, for me and mine.

Money from it? Nah..........:lol::lol::lol:
 
......or to make money

or for the social aspect

or to show off to others ('Hey, look at my pics! Aren't they good!')

or some/all of the above?


For me it's pleasure first and also a way of social interaction with friends. I love the fact that I can take photos and look back at the happy memories. That's the most pleasurable aspect of photography for me.

As making money, I have not quite reached that stage although I have been asked to take photos at a couple of events already (that I would have attended anyway) in return for free or heavily discounted entry.
 
I'm thinking of going for a walk in the Lake District on Friday (weather permitting) and thus using up my memory card's full complement of 900+ shots :thumbs:

So based on your principle, I should get about 9 decent photos :D

But thats 9 decent photos based on my skill level not yours. I suspect that you will get many more decent ones than me. I was feeling a bit peed off when I wrote that though, its probably more like 1 in 50. :D

Andy
 
I love posting pics on here for people to look at and comment on, I get such a buzz when people like them :)

Have to admit, I love it when this happens. I don't rate myself as even a "good amateur" going by the standards of some on here, so when somebody says "well done", I really appreciate it.

I like the solitude and the social side (bit like motorcycling - love that too)

I like the technical aspect and striving to create better images - One day I will deliver a half decent landscape :bang:

Alas, I confess I'm also a bit of a gadget person, so photography appeals to me from that perspective also - learning how to use the equipment to it's best is a great challenge (now where did I put that handbook ? :D).

Making money from it is just a dream. Maybe, someday.....

Good thread this one :thumbs:

Steve
 
my interest in photgraphy was started many years ago in school....i dont think my art teacher could find anything decent to say regarding my attempts at art :( so he pushed me towards the photography side of things. I learnt the art of film development and printing too which i really enjoyed...

I found women, beer and fishing soon after school and the camera kit went up into the attic.... ive always had point and shoot cameras around me, so have always been taking family shots and the like..

When asked what i really wanted for my birthday this year i chose my first dslr, so on my b'day my missus took me shopping :)

Since then ive been playing around a lot with my camera, taking photos of allsorts , most of which are deleted once i upload them to pc :bat:
but im learning..

Since having my camera i find im more likely to get off my fat ass and get outdoors of an evening, and whenever ive spare time.

Im on a really steep learning curve at the moment and i find so many articles on this forum to be so helpfull.....

so thanks to you all for your input on here :):):)

jabber :cuckoo:
 
But thats 9 decent photos based on my skill level not yours. I suspect that you will get many more decent ones than me. I was feeling a bit peed off when I wrote that though, its probably more like 1 in 50. :D

Andy

Well I went to the Lakes today instead. I parked up at the south end of Derwent Water and embarked on an eight-and-a-half mile circular hike :thumbs:

It was great and I took 107 photos. Of these I kept 39, and of those probably 3 are okay :help:

I enjoyed the walk, though, and an old fella, upon spotting my gear, asked if I was a professional photographer!! :D:D
 
Just for my own pleasure, gets me out and about..I have no inclination to sell them or make a living off of it, but I like the memories...and to be honest most of my shots are flukes, lol, and not from any skill...but I didn't just admit that. ;)
 
Pleasure, pain, profit.

Photography is the only thing I'm good at which doesn't bore me to the core after 5 mins. Photography keeps me out of 'work'

And I get paid for it :D
 
I do it purely for pleasure now.

I started as a hobby, then began to make some money, then eased off and it became more of a hobby, then did it full time as a business, then stopped altogether as it became a chore, but the lure of producing images was just too strong and I now do it just for me, my family and my friends. I belong to a local'ish camera club (social) and love buying and playing with new toys (mid life crisis thing)!

Good luck to all those who want to turn it into a business or job, but try not to let the passion go out of it!
 
Its mainly a hobby for me but would like to make some money out of it some day.
 
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