[Mikesul]

I am a teacher of Latin and Greek as well as Greek literature.

[Digitalis]

I've found when your hobby becomes your living, it stops being fun.

I get a bit tired of hearing this statement - If this is the case you weren't passionate about it in the first place. If you really have a passion for something you will stick to it, especially in the face of adversity. There is much to be said of the trait of tenacity, I personally consider having it is equally important as talent. Certainly having a modicum of talent is crucial for any creative career but having the pluck to stick it through the good times and bad is just, if not more important. Do you think any of the great photographers present and past do not have any passion for what they are doing?

[Rexlawyer]

So if your username is anything to go by, you represent T-Rex's? Or dogs named Rex? Or your nickname is Rex and you're a lawyer?

Close! Horses named Rex. Italian stallions. JOK

[Robin]

I'm a forestry planner, and in a way photography is part of my job. I manage the UAV (drone) operations for the company, which means besides controlling drone contractor jobs, I also do testing of new drones, and trying out new applications. Besides plain old RGB photos, we also use FLIR thermal imaging and multispectral imaging. I've found that my years of experience with cameras helps me better understand sensor requirements and practical application of the data.

[Rexlawyer]

I'm a forestry planner, and in a way photography is part of my job. I manage the UAV (drone) operations for the company, which means besides controlling drone contractor jobs, I also do testing of new drones, and trying out new applications. Besides plain old RGB photos, we also use FLIR thermal imaging and multispectral imaging. I've found that my years of experience with cameras helps me better understand sensor requirements and practical application of the data.

Cool job, and a lot more important these days than many realize. I was reading an article just days ago about look-out tower rangers and how they are being slowly replaced by drones. Those rangers also have to take pictures to send to their responding stations regarding fires and other "activities". Very romantic but lonesome life living way out in the woods for months on end. Your job sounds more interesting to me.

[ecostigny]

I used to photograph weddings on the side. While rewarding, it felt a bit too much like work in terms of managing customer expectations, meeting quality standards, and adhering to tight deadlines. However, I still photograph company events and try every day to improve my output.

[Robin]

Cool job, and a lot more important these days than many realize. I was reading an article just days ago about look-out tower rangers and how they are being slowly replaced by drones. Those rangers also have to take pictures to send to their responding stations regarding fires and other "activities". Very romantic but lonesome life living way out in the woods for months on end. Your job sounds more interesting to me.

What we do isn't quite what you'd know as forestry, more like maize farming on a grand scale . All of our landholdings are plantation forests where we plant eucalyptus trees, which are harvested after 8 to 10 years, and used to produce chemical cellulose. So things like tree breeding and crop health, as well as firefighting are very important to us. Hence the multispectral drones.

[BarryE]

I get a bit tired of hearing this statement - If this is the case you weren't passionate about it in the first place. If you really have a passion for something you will stick to it, especially in the face of adversity. There is much to be said of the trait of tenacity, I personally consider having it is equally important as talent. Certainly having a modicum of talent is crucial for any creative career but having the pluck to stick it through the good times and bad is just, if not more important. Do you think any of the great photographers present and past do not have any passion for what they are doing?

Tend to agree with this. However, doing all the admin, tax, compliance stuff, insurance, marketing, networking, ordering stock etc etc can take the shine of things, so I can see the opposing view ;-)

[RookieGuy]

I get a bit tired of hearing this statement - If this is the case you weren't passionate about it in the first place. If you really have a passion for something you will stick to it, especially in the face of adversity. There is much to be said of the trait of tenacity, I personally consider having it is equally important as talent. Certainly having a modicum of talent is crucial for any creative career but having the pluck to stick it through the good times and bad is just, if not more important. Do you think any of the great photographers present and past do not have any passion for what they are doing?

I've heard that before. The sentiment suffers from a common problem. It sounds true hearing it but fails the real world test. True, I've rarely spoken to professional photographers, and that was 15 years ago when I was in Iraq, and 17 years ago in Kosovo.

I was thinking of the more recent conversations with chefs, artists, mechanics, florists, event planners, and musicians. They really have the passion still for their chosen professions, no question about it. But the more successful they become, the less food, art, whatever they do.

It becomes more customer service, more dealing with taxes and regulations, more budgeting and payroll, more marketing, more of everything it takes to keep a business successful and less about the hands on product making.

I'd like to touch on the customer service for a second. For me, that's the big thing in a few different ways. For anything creative you're trying to sell, be it commissioned or a finished product in a brick and mortar or even online store, it matters not one bit if you think you're products are good or bad. It only matters what your customers want. I can see the creative people's souls dying a little more with every commission they accept. They put out what they'd call trash according to their standards of creativity to keep the lights on. That trash might be a well done steak or the most basic family portraits or generic wedding package no.5 or, in keeping with the theme here, let's get on the dancefloor and do the Electric Slide everyone!

Now, we all have different reasons for doing what we do both for fun and a paycheck. And I'm perfectly willing to admit that what motivates me in either isn't going to be that for everyone. That's why I used first person singular pronouns. After only 40 years of walking this earth, I know myself well enough through both painful experiences and vicariously that when what I like to do becomes what I have to do*, I'm making a trade that leaves me feeling a little empty inside.

You asked me a direct question which I'd like to directly answer. Do I really think great photographers past and present lose their passion? How the hell should I know what they are/ were thinking? But the relatively few professional photographers I've spoken to, it varies. John, a combat photographer and Panama veteran, was perfectly willing to trade safety for the chance to get out and show what it was we were doing while in uniform. Sarah, portrait photographer, saw customers as a means to keep a roof over her head as she took the pictures she wanted in her off time. Phil, sports, loved sports enough that this was a way to stay relevant in his sport, albeit in a different way. And Martin. I don't for the life of me remember particulars, but he could not sit still. After a month in one place, he'd get antsy as hell and almost physically need to move on to the next place. And finally Tommy, a Vietnam war photographer who used his knowledge of cameras and photography to get out of the infantry. He found he liked it well enough and had the resume to rock on with it. Did they have passions for photography? Sure. Would they rather have done other things? Maybe, I never asked. Nor did I ask their feelings about having to take a bad picture well. Nor about the average 3 hours of non photography work for every day shooting. Actually, for some I didn't have to ask, they volunteered their love of accountants and business software.

Now, there's a big difference between running or owning the business and being an employee. And to be honest I wrote thinking of owning or running the business. But at the end of the day it's really only trading one headache for another.

*For creative endeavors like cooking or writing or photography

[wrench.doozer]

I do materials testing / failure analysis. I use my K70 for a lot of macro shots as we only have D3100's at work. Also run a Keyence focus stacking microscope which makes some pretty cool images tho not truly 3d. And sometimes a Zeiss SEM I'm training on. Another imaging toy we might get is a 3D point based stereo metrology camera system.

In general, knowing how light works and how to get good images has done me well, but it's not very glamorous.

My cousin does some paid work and exhibits, not her source of income for sure.

[Rexlawyer]

What we do isn't quite what you'd know as forestry, more like maize farming on a grand scale . All of our landholdings are plantation forests where we plant eucalyptus trees, which are harvested after 8 to 10 years, and used to produce chemical cellulose. So things like tree breeding and crop health, as well as firefighting are very important to us. Hence the multispectral drones.

Not exactly what I thought, but still sounds interesting.

[Robin]

I do materials testing / failure analysis. I use my K70 for a lot of macro shots as we only have D3100's at work. Also run a Keyence focus stacking microscope which makes some pretty cool images tho not truly 3d. And sometimes a Zeiss SEM I'm training on. Another imaging toy we might get is a 3D point based stereo metrology camera system.

In general, knowing how light works and how to get good images has done me well, but it's not very glamorous.

My cousin does some paid work and exhibits, not her source of income for sure.

A mate of mine sells Phantom high speed cameras, and I've seen a couple of their product videos of materials failure. It can be quite dramatic in super slow-mo!

[dave_roe]

In the beginning it paid the bills working as a staff photographer and darkroom tech at a newspaper. Moved to other areas and then changed careers.

Did a bunch of freelance work and taught beginners photography for a few years.

Now retired and do freelance for a couple of news outlets on a limited basis.

The way times have changed and the arrival of smartphones and other devices making a living doing only photo work is a tough road these days.

[Kerrowdown]

The way times have changed and the arrival of smartphones and other devices making a living doing only photo work is a tough road these days.

Very well put indeed.

[Sandy Hancock]

I get a bit tired of hearing this statement - If this is the case you weren't passionate about it in the first place. If you really have a passion for something you will stick to it, especially in the face of adversity. There is much to be said of the trait of tenacity, I personally consider having it is equally important as talent. Certainly having a modicum of talent is crucial for any creative career but having the pluck to stick it through the good times and bad is just, if not more important. Do you think any of the great photographers present and past do not have any passion for what they are doing?

Digitalis is absolutely right. In addition, mastering any craft is a reward in itself, but if you can also make a good living out of it, all power to you.

For my own part, the time I put into learning my day job (nearly killing people I have just met with potentially lethal doses of dangerous drugs and then stopping them from dying while someone else nearly kills them with sharp instruments) was worth every minute, and remains a source of both joy and financial security. I will never put in the time to develop my photography skills to that level, so I'll remain a happily incompetent amateur.