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keithreeder
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p.2 #1 · Hobbyist or Professional

I describe myself as an enthusiast too.

I've sold a few images (and have allowed a UK wildlife artist the rights to use some of my images as "models" for her paintings, in return for prints of the paintings), but only when I've been approached by someone - I don't actively market them.

Nov 07, 2009 at 12:52 PM

Colin Key
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p.2 #2 · Hobbyist or Professional

Bob Loundagin wrote:
A job is where you go to work. No one I know of gets up in the morning and says "Honey I'm off to fun!"

How sad. Until I retired my work was the most wonderful part of my life - 10 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year (and I often went to my office on Christmas Day).

Colin

Nov 07, 2009 at 01:36 PM

Colin Key
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p.2 #3 · Hobbyist or Professional

I have only ever sold one image - a photo of a Black-tailed Godwit which was seen on the net and I was contacted by one of the editorial board of a magazine requesting permission to use the image as a front cover photo. My wife (owning an advertising business for food photography) said ask for £350 - I got that sum without question and felt awful about it ever since. I normally give them away for publication as long as I get a credit.

Colin

Nov 07, 2009 at 01:46 PM

Travelinbri
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p.2 #4 · Hobbyist or Professional

This is a great thread.

I suppose I am an "enthusiast" as well, however, as someone who travels and hopes to be doing humanitarian work overseas professionally (currently finishing up my masters, had done this prior to going back to school), I consider the ability to take high quality photos of the places I go, the people I meet, and the situations I come across important, and some of these have been used for publication before. Now, when it's needed, organizations can hire professional photographers, but I like to throw my bunch in the mix.

On top of that, with some of the amazing places I've been, I like to self publish from time to time.

Nov 07, 2009 at 02:25 PM

kakomu
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p.2 #5 · Hobbyist or Professional

I am most certainly an amateur who just likes taking pictures. That's not to say that people don't ask me for the photographs after the fact, but I've never charged for them.

It's like building websites. I've built them for years and built a few for other people, but never charged.

Nov 07, 2009 at 02:47 PM

runamuck
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p.2 #6 · Hobbyist or Professional

I sell some, but don't actively market my photos.

Nov 07, 2009 at 03:22 PM

skasol
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p.2 #7 · Hobbyist or Professional

Also A hobby. but wouldn't mind turning it into a secondary income.

Nov 07, 2009 at 03:30 PM

Beni
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p.2 #8 · Hobbyist or Professional

First pro to answer, full time wedding pro, don't have any other source of income at present.

Nov 07, 2009 at 03:32 PM

helimat
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p.2 #9 · Hobbyist or Professional

stanj wrote:
Do hobbyist boaters have to justify their spending?

A great point. At work we have hunters, fisherman, motorcycle enthusiasts, sail boaters, and none of them ever have to answer 'you spent how much on xxx?', however I do every time I get something new.

Nov 07, 2009 at 04:03 PM

Chrono1081
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p.2 #10 · Hobbyist or Professional

rafael_enrique wrote:
David Israel wrote:
While we may be splitting hairs with semantics here, I consider myself more of an "enthusiast" than a hobbyist. I absolutely LOVE photography and think of myself as taking it more seriously than a "hobbiest would." No doubt, some people who consider themselves hobbiest will dispute this, hotly. That being said...

I have been asked many times by people if I ever inteded to sell my images (especially when I shoot HS sports). However, I would never want to rob the pleasure and joy out of my photography by turning it into a job.

Dave
+1 - if you sell, then maybe it becomes a job and who would want to spoil the joy of a passion by making it a job. IMHO - YMMV

+2

Having pressure on me to get a perfect shot ruins the fun for me.

Granted there are some on this forum who will cry and whine cause your "not charging" but whatever they can learn to deal with it.

Nov 07, 2009 at 04:09 PM

ftemoto
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p.2 #11 · Hobbyist or Professional

stanj wrote:
Do hobbyist boaters have to justify their spending?

No kidding. Price a boat or a Harley or Beemer GS. Or membership at a golf club. Or a motorhome. Or a pilot's license. Or . . .

The hobbyist-pro almost 99% of the time is a concept that comes up when someone who isn't busy enough pro'ing it, whatever that means, gets a button pushed.

Nov 07, 2009 at 04:18 PM

corndog
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p.2 #12 · Hobbyist or Professional

Nov 07, 2009 at 05:10 PM

Gochugogi
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p.2 #13 · Hobbyist or Professional

helimat wrote:
stanj wrote:
Do hobbyist boaters have to justify their spending?

A great point. At work we have hunters, fisherman, motorcycle enthusiasts, sail boaters, and none of them ever have to answer 'you spent how much on xxx?', however I do every time I get something new.

Are sure about that? Most guys I know with an expensive hobby at least gets "the look" from his wife for a new hobby purchase. Many suffer verbal abuse and threats. Many hide what they're doing. My father collected, restored and flew antique airplanes and suffered endless ribbing and sarcastic remarks about wasting money from his OS. I've heard endless horror stories of guitar collectors suffering the same. I don't think photography is any different in this regard from other enthusiasts with expensive hobbies.

Actually photography is one of the cheaper hobbies. Pales in comparison to vintage and luthier grade guitar collector/players.

Nov 07, 2009 at 05:27 PM

heatherwb
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p.2 #14 · Hobbyist or Professional

Definitely enthusiast, with bigger aspirations. I've sold a couple of my prints, but I'm considering eventually selling them online and making some more money.

I like my day job OK, but I wouldn't consider what I do really fun, so therefore I call it like it is--I'm going to work. I'm one of the ones who wishes she could get up and go have fun 5 days & 40 hours per week. Heck, if I was having that much fun, it would gladly be willing to spend more time having "fun".

For me to tell my husband that I'm going off to fun, the job I'm doing would have to be a passion for me; my day job (librarian) is not a passion for me. Photography is that passion.

Even though my day job is necessary to pay the bills, photography is what keeps me going when things at the day job get really boring or crazy.

Heather

Nov 07, 2009 at 05:32 PM

Gochugogi
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p.2 #15 · Hobbyist or Professional

Colin Key wrote:
Bob Loundagin wrote:
A job is where you go to work. No one I know of gets up in the morning and says "Honey I'm off to fun!"

How sad. Until I retired my work was the most wonderful part of my life - 10 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year (and I often went to my office on Christmas Day).

Colin

You obviously had a job doing what you loved. Not too many among us were fortunate enough, or smart enough, to train in a professional close to his/her heart. But, yeah, I also love what I do (music professor) and look forward to work most days. Long holidays are a bit of a bore and hence the hobbies. I recall working jobs I hated--paper mill, sheetrock pounder, dinner music--so it helped drive me to a profession I truly enjoyed.

Nov 07, 2009 at 05:34 PM

jeremy_clay
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p.2 #16 · Hobbyist or Professional

pro, yo.

Nov 07, 2009 at 05:36 PM

kakomu
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p.2 #17 · Hobbyist or Professional

As an aside, I was just asked to photograph all of the cats at the Shelter that I volunteer at.

Nov 07, 2009 at 07:36 PM

jcolwell
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p.2 #18 · Hobbyist or Professional

M Vers wrote:
Can I be both?

Not here. CPS Canada requires that 100% of your income comes from photography.

Nov 07, 2009 at 07:46 PM

RobertLynn
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p.2 #19 · Hobbyist or Professional

Wow. The last I read in the US, you only had to have a majority of your income from photography.

Nov 07, 2009 at 07:52 PM

outlawyer
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p.2 #20 · Hobbyist or Professional

"Actually photography is one of the cheaper hobbies. Pales in comparison to vintage and luthier grade guitar collector/players."

+1; especially digital photography. Most people have a computer already these days, and a really fine printer is amazingly cheap, for what you get.

Nov 07, 2009 at 08:00 PM

M Vers
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p.2 #21 · Hobbyist or Professional

jcolwell wrote:
M Vers wrote:
Can I be both?

Not here. CPS Canada requires that 100% of your income comes from photography.

Well 100% of my income DOES come from photography. My point was I spend more time shooting for myself than I do for any number of my clients--in which case I'm not only a professional but an enthusiast as well. Regardless this isn't 'the world according to CPS Canada'....or is it?

Nov 07, 2009 at 10:20 PM

jcolwell
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p.2 #22 · Hobbyist or Professional

M Vers wrote:
-in which case I'm not only a professional but an enthusiast as well. Regardless this isn't 'the world according to CPS Canada'....or is it?

Of course, you're a professional and an enthusiast as well. I am too, for both Naval Architecture (my profession) and for photography (my passion). I was only responding to the conceptual definitions of 'hobbyist' and 'professional'. Like most concepts, they blend together in real life, but not for CPS Canada.

Nov 07, 2009 at 11:14 PM

keith_cooper
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p.2 #23 · Hobbyist or Professional

Interesting to hear of people's backgrounds.

It's what I do as a living, but I happen to enjoy it a lot too :-)

I know of several 'pro' photographers who have lost some of the pleasures of photography, once they have done it for a living for a while. Not all, by any means, but enough that I have a deliberate policy of limiting the number of 'paying jobs' I'll do in an average week.

My own solution was to only take up photography for a living once I'd solidly sorted out the business side of things - If asked, I run a photography business and happen to take photos as part of it.

Writing my articles/reviews is definitely an enjoyable part of the business too - it actually brings in enough income that I can afford to be a bit more picky in the work I do (all my clients tend to be corporate ones - no weddings/portraits etc)

One other thing, I very rarely book jobs on a Thursday afternoon... It's when I have my piano lessons :-)
No point in running your own business if you can't use it to do things you like :-)

Nov 07, 2009 at 11:58 PM

mh2000
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p.2 #24 · Hobbyist or Professional

Artist. Worst of all possibilities... sell little, show my work in small galleries, do not make a *living* off it.

Nov 08, 2009 at 01:02 AM

Gochugogi
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p.2 #25 · Hobbyist or Professional

Artist. Worst of all possibilities... sell little, show my work in small galleries, do not make a *living* off it.

Actually, half my musician and artist friends fall in that category, as did I until my mid-30s. After that I said the hell with it (grew up too middle class and needed to eat & drive a nice car, etc.) and got a job in academia: teach a few classes and do the artfart stuff on the side as professional improvement and brownie points towards promotion.

Professional hobbyist is also another common niche. I guess that's sorta in the realm of pro beer drinker, pro eater and all around journeyman slacker.

Nov 08, 2009 at 01:16 AM


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