Enjoying your job?

[tobias_hough]

If any of you care to humor me, I'm conducting something of a

personal survey to help me figure out this thing we call "work".

 

Who of you enjoy your present job? This question isn't necessarily

aimed specifically at professional photog's. What about you who work

in a field completely unrelated to your passion for the camera? (I'm

assuming we all have something of a passion for photography, because

why else would we make hanging out in an internet forum a daily

ritual?)

 

I suppose I should play too:

I work as the "marketing guy" for a real estate company. I don't

much care for it...I'd rather be taking pictures. Perhaps, one day,

I'll have the nerve to try and make photography my sole occupation.

[michaelkh]

I'm an IT type - a web engineer.

 

I just went freelance recently, to help me capture some impetus and interest in my work - my previous jobs left me underwhelmed or overstressed, and sometimes both. It hasn't been long, but I feel differently about work, and that's good in itself.

 

As for making photography my sole business - in a way I'd like a career change, one day, but I'm aware also that computing used to be a hobby... It's OK to 'rather be taking pictures', but maybe for some of us that should be in the same way as 'I'd rather be in my garden' or 'I'd rather be in the pub' - the leisure activity that fills our minds in our working hours. I fear doing it as a sole way of making money would take all the fun out of it.

[m_p7]

I work in a biotech lab. I'd much rather be a full-time photographer. My wife also works in biotech. We started a little company about a year ago to shoot some weddings and portraits, but it's not profitable yet. It seems that its the old catch-22: not enough time to work on the photography business to really replace the day job, can't quit the day job because won't have enough money to eat (or support the photography business).

 

To top it off, my company just laid off 40% of its employees (I survived), but it's looking like a sinking ship. I'm currently looking for another company to jump to that is safer.

[shawn_mertz]

If you do something for your living it becomes work, because it adds pressure that

prevents it from being relaxing. Just listen to Pro Athletes talk about contracts etc.

[melissa_eiselein]

<I>"If you do something for your living it becomes work"

<P>"I fear doing it as a sole way of making money would take all the fun out of it."</i>

 

 

<p>Tobias. Give some serious thought to the advice you read here. I've mentioned it before, but writing fiction used to be my hobby. Now, I make my living writing non-fiction. For the most part, I like what I do, but writing is no longer a hobby. It's work. When I get home the last thing I want to do is write for fun.

 

<p>Another thing to keep in mind is the long-term financial impact of being a photographer. Oh, there are some who make a darn good living at it. But I think most are either stuck in a steady moderately-low paying photography job (newspaper) or they are sporadically getting good paying assignments (weddings, etc)

 

<p>I think a well paid photographer needs to have excellent photo skills and a keen business sense. I also think they'd better have a second hobby to fall back on when their photography becomes work.

[J.W. Wall]

I'm recently retired (not from photography), after a long career and "burnout." In considering plans for a photography business now, I necessarily think about photography as work. If I start a photo business, I'll definitely need a different hobby.

 

There's an intersting little book with some off-beat but practical advice, "The Joy of NOT Working" -- it discusses what work and leisure are, the proper role of earning a living, and has a humorous way of nudging the reader along to find his or her path. Good luck with yours!

[mfeetham]

I design network security solutions in the automotive industry. But unlike what I'm reading from some of you here, I love to go home and play/learn more stuff about computers. It may be not be security related stuff, but technology in general is a hobby I enjoy outside of work.

 

After a year of taking occasional photography jobs (mostly family portraits and stuff), enough requests are coming in that I'm currently in the process of turning this into a small business. If the day comes that I feel I'm turning away too many photography jobs so I can go work my "real" job, then I will consider a full time career change.

 

When/if that day comes, I am completely confident that photography will still remain a hobby.

 

I was a semi-pro musician years ago, and now that I think of it, music always remained one of my hobbies as well.

 

I guess I have been fortunate to always love whatever I am doing. I've had few days where I am not genuinely excited about something I'm doing at work.

 

Life is good, so I should just shut up now ;)

[ted_marcus1]

Work is what you do for others...

<p>  Art is what you do for yourself.

<p>

<p>Stephen Sondheim, <i>Sunday In the Park With George</i>

[forrestberkshire]

I was a reporter for a daily newspaper for a few years when I realized I should have

gone into photography. I'm a pretty good writer, winning a few state press awards,

etc. But when one of the two full-time photog's quit at the paper, I jumped at the

chance.

 

I couldn't be happier with my job. Sure, there are some terrible assignments, and

sometimes you're assigned to photograph something by an editor who has absolutely

no idea what they want, or how you can get it. And sometimes you have about 15

minutes to shoot a front page shot before you are running to your next assignment.

It's challenging, frustrating and sometimes a little risky.

 

But, if you love photography, there is nothing better than getting paid to take

pictures. PLus, if you hook up with a good employer, they provide all the cool toys

you could never afford.

[lovethismoment]

An interesting question for me at the moment. I'm in IT but am in the process of jumping ship since I hate the industry. It's not actually programming etc that I hate, I actually still quite like that, just being stressed working for big companies that don't give a damn about anyone, be it their employees or their clients. I've realised that my main, or only reason infact, for staying in IT is the money, and life's too short for more money to be your main purpose.

 

I'm planning to start a business of my own, but have a bit of work in the interim to get myself up to scratch for that. I don't know what business yet but it most likely won't be photography. I'm currently doing a website to try to sell my photos, but that's just a sideline I'm hoping may pay for some of the expenses of the hobby - I have no expectations of making much from it. Whatever business though I've realised that I need more fulfilment from work - I need to feel like I'm achieving something for myself. I guess I've always known that I've wanted to work for myself, it's just taken me a little while to get to it.

 

Something that I've started to tell myself is "Live the life you want to live, not the one you think you should". Life really is too short.

[medina photography cherry]

I was a truck driver for 12 years..Hated that. Went into conxtruxtion in 1999 building cell towers, worked my way up the ladder fairly quick. became a Construction Manager in 2001 ran jobs for AT&T in Long Island, Manhattan, the 5 boroughs (New York) Voicestream, did some XM radio and Sirrus radio sites before Sept 11, 2001 destroyed my industry. I lost my job ,went into real estate (in NJ) did ok at first but then flopped 7 months later. Got a job driving a mulch truck making deliveries (try to pay the bills) now I am back in cell site construction....at the bottom again, doing site construction (trenching, concrete pads, running wires etc) Not exactly exstatic, but paying the bills. Now I have a plan though. I want to get into full time Photography. I have a websitem albiet not the best website, it is there. I have my 3rd wedding gig coming up in October. After the winter spring when it gets busy again (cell site that is) and I am getting plenty of OT I will start a marketing campaign to get my name out there more. This is going to be a long term stratedgy for me, as Bob Atkins said, if you are not making money doing it part time then that is a good indication that you should take it slow.

 

well enough rambling here.

 

Cheers,

Rob Medina

www.medinaphotography.com

[alexander mcmillan]

Rob was sensible, getting work in photography is becoming harder and more competitive. Nearly everyone has access to a digital camera and the cameras are getting better, so that any fool can take a good shot! And if the shot is average they go to the computer and make it look good.

Soon they will not need wedding photographers!

 

Sure, there will be a market, just that the market is shrinking. Only the clever and good will survive.

Unless you think that you can really make a liveable income from photography alone, try designing your buisiness around photography, i.e. sell cameras or accessories.

Be available to take shots for estate agents who sell houses etc. be available for mags. that sell such things as cars and need shots of these. Small money but it all helps when work is short. Put your images that are just lying about gathering dust in some stock library. Not great income but again it all adds up at the end of the year.

Think and earn.