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 p.1 #8 · How do you balance work, family and photography? | |
Life's a tradeoff. I am in a very similar situation and also try to balance playing hockey - which I do about twice a week - because I think it's really important to have a physical outlet.
I got into photography precisely because I wanted to take pictures of my kids (one is 3, one 20-months). Before they were born I made a promise that I would try to take a picture of them, every single day of their life, as long as I could. So far I have held to that promise pretty well, and only missed a few days - and then only because I forgot my duty in all the business of raising a child. There were a few nights where I had to sneak into their room at 11:45 PM to snap a shot of one of them lying in their crib.
If I posted my photos here, I am sure they would get criticized to pieces. My photographs are not art, but I think they are beautiful, and my wife loves them, and I get a lot of pleasure out of flipping through images while I am on the streetcar or waiting at the doctor's office. And one day, they are going to have a treasure trove of images of themselves.
Anyways, I keep telling myself I am going to find more time to actually get better at the craft, but I never do. I am very involved with the kids - I take them to daycare, pick them up, cook and feed them dinner, etc. By the time they are in bed, I am exhausted and have no energy to do anything. So for me, progress in photography is slow to non-existent, and I keep trudging taking what some would deride as snapshots. But we still love our snapshots.
If I were the OP - and we are in very similar circumstances - I would try to work on taking better pictures of my children. They're right in front of us because we're caring for them all the time, so what better to do then put the camera in their face and try to take beautiful pictures of them, and maybe learn something in the process ? It's definitely a challenge in its own right. Take a bunch of pictures of your kids every day, and you've probably taken a bunch more pictures than most. Then make sure you print out the best pictures, so that your wife can enjoy them. One day, she will come to appreciate it. My wife certainly does, and allows me to indulge myself by not complaining when I spend far too much money.
There's a great collection of photos some guy did of his kids out there - they were linked to from here, strobist.com, and elsewhere - and I keep telling myself that I would try to copy some of those shots as a learning exercise. So I bought umbrellas, flashes, Pocket Wizards, etc - and they're still all in a box waiting for the day I have time to figure out how to use it - along with the macro lenses, and macro flashes I bought when I thought I might try to do macro photography in the backyard when my kids are sleeping !!
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I'm just trying to find ways to keep working, take care of the family, and allow my photography to move forward however slowly. I don't want to give it up. 
but in general, it's been working for me so far.