Why I haven't turned my photography passion into a job

Photo by Akash Chaudhary on Unsplash

Hey, my friend! Thanks once more for being here reading my post. Your continued support means a lot.

Now, photography is my biggest passion. Since I discovered it, back in 2012, I've tried to shoot and learn as much as I could. I've watched hundreds of videos, attended a bunch of workshops, but most of the job has been done with practice. And errors.

I don't hide that I'm happy when I'm on set. Feeling the creativity vibe shaking me is an amazing sensation. Surrounding me with other creatives is a great way to grow and to improve.

So the question comes easy: why I've never turned this into my job?

There are a few different reasons holding me back, and I'll try to elaborate on them.

First: I have a well-established job that pays my bills. It's good enough to make me wake up (almost) happily in the morning and to grant my family a sustainable life. And this leads immediately to the second reason: I have a family. We can rely only on the income from my job and I cannot just get up one day and throw it away for an uncertain artistic career. I have responsibilities towards my wife and my kid. Being a freelance is a fantastic way of working, but it can be extremely challenging and risky. And I'm not in the position to take that kind of risk. Not anymore.

I cannot try the professional photographer game and in parallel do my 9 to 5 job. In part because time is not endless and in part because, at least here in Italy, there are crazy regulations that make it a pain to have 2 jobs. I'm not gonna dig into this as it would become a boring rant about fiscal laws and blah blah blah.

There are also another bunch of considerations I've made over the years, and they came mainly from talking to friends who are professional photographers.

They often complain about having to accept assignments they are not enthusiastic about. They tell me that, especially in the wedding business, from April to September they literally don't have a life. And, from what I understood, if you're not on weddings you're not gonna make it for a living…

Of course, I didn't talk to ALL the photographers in Italy and I probably only little scratched the surface of the whole thing.

However, there's one thought that made me be reluctant to make the leap into that business: why should I turn something I love doing into something that will make me complain about?

You can argue that every job has drawbacks. That's very true, I know. However, flipping it around, I currently have a job with bad days and a passion with none. I'm not sure I would like to see my love for photography turn into a job that will end up making me feel unhappy. Or, better, less happy.

I love the freedom to say ‘no, thanks’ when I don't like the idea for a shoot.

You could say that the love for photography will overcome the problems and the challenges that business will throw at me. Yes, that's possible. And probably I would do that if I had no alternatives.

Maybe I'm just playing it safe. No pain, no gain, they say.

But I’m past my 40s and, as mentioned before, I'm not the only one relying on my income. Were I 20, probably I wouldn't even be making these many problems.

The reality is I don't want to sacrifice my passion for money.

Does that make any sense?

Take care and talk soon!