Are you in it for art or money?

I got started in photography as a hobby, basically to make art. I never dreamed of making any money at it until years after I started. It was fun for me. I photographed family events, birthday parties, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and such but only for me. It wasn’t until years later that I thought I could make some money. I soon realized that much of the time it took away from the fun. It was a job. It was, at times, a rewarding job, but nonetheless, it was a job. I soon stopped doing photography as a job and got back to photography for fun. Nowadays, it often appears that people get involved with photography and very shortly after starting begin to look for ways to make money. They work hours and hours but rarely realize most of them are actually making less than minimum wage.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with wanting to photograph for money. There is a need for it. At the same time, those that really want to make money in photography need to learn to treat their photography as a business. To successfully run a business you must calculate your cost of doing business and then price your product accordingly. That includes paying yourself. For me, that is a job and I would rather do my photography to create art and have fun. If I sell something I took a picture of while having fun great, if not I had fun.