Why do I take pictures?
Fun. What an easy and predictable answer that is! I’ll be more specific: photography is something that allows the creative bit of my brain to have an outlet. It also serves as a method to express my interests and the things that matter to me into a pictorial form. To document this stage in my life. Much as a journalist uses language, photographers use images captured on a sensor/film.
Photography is also so vast that it allows me to learn about all it’s beautiful little intricacies and history. Going to a gallery or exhibition is a great way to learn what people in the past have discovered about photography and is such an amazing source of inspiration.
As cliched or existential, as it may seem, my photographs are an extension of me. There’s no outside influence, no agenda, no prejudices but my own. That’s important in producing these images.
With all this in mind, why not ‘go Pro’? Why not get paid for doing something I enjoy? For me the answer is pretty straightforward. The pictures I take, are for me. For the reasons covered above, I get to make every single artistic decision in the images. I don’t have to satisfy any client requirement. I get to take the pictures whenever I want and to take as long as I want. That final image that you see is as close to the one in my mind, as I can make it.
Throughout these last few years, my family have been encouraging and supportive of my photographic hobby and in a highly competitive world, to rely on photography as a sole means of income would place unnecessary stress on myself and my family. I would never put my family’s happiness and wellbeing in jeopardy for a hobby.
This post is not here to discourage anyone who wants to or already does make a living from photography (quite the opposite, in fact) but this is just how I view the ‘Pro’ aspect. I would like to think that whether I’m paid to take photos or not, I always approach every single shot with a ‘Pro’ attitude. Hopefully, every image presented will have that for the viewer to see.