Now that I’m busier than ever with commercial photography work, I still do not miss an opportunity to go on photo walks and share my passion with other photographers or photography lovers. My renewed passion and confidence gave me the edge to sell myself as a photographer and gain new clients which in turn allowed me to really find a niche and specialize in photography genres that I truly love. The results were even apparent in my professional work, I felt more confident and it showed. Through sharing my work with others on social media and the blog, my passion for photography was rekindled and my work got better. Photo of the week #21 of my 52 week project I challenged myself to work on special projects such as a 52 week project, I gave myself some self assignments on weekends such as doing more street photography, limiting myself to one lens, trying new techniques, challenging myself to experimenting in genres that were outside my comfort zone, etc. What changed my outlook and made my passion for photography stronger than ever? As a result I wasn’t shooting for fun anymore. Another problem was that, since I was spending a lot of time in the digital darkroom processing client images, I did not feel like processing personal work on my time off. As a new pro, you tend to want to take all the work you can get, whether you find satisfaction in it or not. As I was spending each week shooting for work, photography was slowly becoming mundane and I started to leave my camera behind on my days off… Part of it was that I was not always shooting what I loved for work. It took me a while to realize what the problem was and it was gradual.
#HDR PROJECTS DARKROOM PRO#
The consequence of turning pro can be the feeling that photography has become a job, and therefore a chore. It happened to me and to a lot of other photographers I know personally or read interviews about. There is one aspect that most photographers do not consider when making the jump to becoming a pro (as in making a living from your photography), it is the simple fact that at some point, sooner or later, the passion for the craft may diminish or even die.
#HDR PROJECTS DARKROOM FULL#
For most it is a very gradual switch and they go from shooting as a weekend and evening gig to a full time job when the client base is large enough to support them. Most pros did not quit their day jobs overnight to open a studio. Of course, the financial security of leaving a 9 to 5 job to be your own boss is the first drawback that would come to mind. But it doesn’t come without its drawbacks. Living the dream of turning your passion into a profitable business sounds like the ideal job and, in many ways, it is the best job in the world.
Can turning pro kill your passion for photography? The importance of personal projects.
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