In Perspective, Fun: Here's why I'll never be a financial success...

I'll never make any money with this hobby ... Because I wont' shoot the two things that bring in the bucks ....

Weddings: - I've seen "Bridezillas" - need I say more ? - Besides, a beautiful picture is so subjective, I can expect to see myself in Court just because the 300 pound Bride didn't like the picture because she claims I made her look "a little Heavy".....

Children: - I dont like children. Stinkey, filthy little things.... My wife was watching a couple last week and I walked past them (rapidly) and one asked me if they could go out and play... I don't talk to them when I'm sober, but I did say ... 'No - it's raining".... He asked why it was raining.... I said "Because God is crying" ...... yup, he had to ask... "Why's God crying?" - - had to nip this in the bud fast cuz I really don't 'interact' with them.... I said, " I dont know, but it was probably because of something that YOU did"... My wife asked me why this little kid was crying in our living room.....

What sounds more peaceful ..... Getting some smelly, crying, little 3 year old to sit still on a stool so I can take a picture of him bawling, or taking a picture of a stand of Quakies in the fall, just as the sun creates a golden glow over the foliage....?

No money - but happy.....

Rick Otto said:

I'll never make any money with this hobby ...

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That applies to most all of us! We do it for the pleasure!

Rick Otto said:

Because I wont' shoot the two things that bring in the bucks ....

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Well, you can also make $30,000 doing a hoot for Madonna or Lady Gaga. There are much better, even $100,0000 in photographing an entire new civic center in Malaysia or Dubai. You just have to get the job! But next time, some new shooter from Germany or Chile may be the hottest person on the planet and they no longer need you. So even the stars have trouble keeping in the sky!

Weddings, by are very hard grueling jobs, so labor intensive, and, you're not in charge as an artist, except for a minor moments that cannot be repeated.

Children are not for anyone who simply doesn't like them. I love kids and have patience for them. I also delight in photographing people who think they are not "good looking" enough to photograph! Even then, as you point out, kids require a lot of energy and can be draining if you are not up to it.

I'd not like to do either to make a living, LOL. Being a doctor and academic was hard enough!

What we do hear is mostly for pleasure. Even Nicolas Claris who really has to work hard to take amazing pictures of ocean going dream yachts, get exhausted. But every day, he's thrilled by his work! That's when we're blessed!

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

Weddings, by are very hard grueling jobs, so labor intensive, and, you're not in charge as an artist, except for a minor moments that cannot be repeated.

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I appreciate that good wedding photographers can get excellent quality images but I still suspect that weddings are often a lost opportunity.

I've only done one, that was for a friend and money was not part of the equation. OK, you've got to cover the formal shots and if you're doing it commercially you'd need to include studio shots (which I don't much interest me because I don't much like the posed and artificial appearance they often have). Beyond that, there should be lots of opportunity for street photography and experimentation, even maybe infrared as a sideline.

Maybe wedding photography has changed since the advent of high ISO DSLRs but I associate photography at receptions with blasting away at posed groups with a flash. I think that a mixture of interaction, street photography and social documentary could be much more interesting. Of course, you'd have to pick your wedding for that and explain what you wanted to do beforehand. And you'd need appropriate sensitivity.

The one wedding I did do (a while ago in the film era), I used a 5x4 for formal shots but also got in close with a fisheye for shots of the wedding party. I wasn't expecting much for the latter but they worked surprisingly well. And I used a Widelux for shots of the guests and the band. That captured interesting interactions between people who didn't realise they were being photographed because they weren't standing directly in front of the camera. The rotating lens also made taking a photograph something more like performance art than an imposition.

Regards,
Murray

Very few people make money in photography anyway. If it is a hobby, that should be considered normal: most hobbies just cost money (thing about golf or tennis). If it is work, then you are not supposed to take photographs of what you like but of what the customers want.

Many professional photographers have a very unglamorous job. Shooting weddings or kids can be considered as fun by comparison. A major branch of professional photography is technical (e.g. catalogues). I know of a professional photographer who works in a clinic for skin diseases taking photographs of rashes and melanoma all day long. Doctors need to document the evolution and growth rate of the skin diseases, so that is a job.