Many people, who start photography as a hobby, at some point contemplate doing it professionally. There many degrees of involvement in professional photography, though, from occasionally selling a few images while keeping the “day job” to committing to the photo business full-time. Dan Heller, the author of several books and articles on the business of photography, including the “Profitable Photography in Digital Age: Strategies for Success,” describes various degrees of commitment to the business aspect and the associated advantages and disadvantages.
To me personally, one of the most appealing aspects of doing photography part-time is the ability to limit the photo projects only to those that are interesting from the creative standpoint. These projects are often not the most viable commercially, but I don’t have to forgo them in favour of more profitable, but often boring shoots, that would certainly feel more like a job rather than fun.
Of course, in theory, a job does not have to be boring. In academe, for example, the combination of teaching (which can be very rewarding in its own right) and research continues to fascinate me even after doing it for a few years. Still, with a “real” job come obligations, which tend to spoil whatever leisure we might have. As Allan Watts puts it in “The Wisdom of Insecurity
, “… most of us are willing to put up with lives that consist largely in doing jobs that are bore, earning the means to seek relief from the tedium by intervals of hectic and expensive pleasure.” In the case of photography, I think that it is better not to turn it into a “bore” if at all possible.
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