DSLR owner Poll

I would like to make a profession as a photographer, but I don't think I am good enough for that. I have had people who have wanted photos that I have, but I have never sold anything as of yet.

Voted hobbyist.

Photography has been an interest of mine I couldn't afford to take up until after college when I got a full-time job. Even before then, when I worked to buy my very first digital camera, I would find myself just going outside and taking pictures for hours completely randomly.

Something else I enjoy is how most people react when you point a camera at them. (most people... definitely not all!) They just stop caring about whatever they were thinking about and try to look good or goofy for the camera.

George Carlin said:

"I don't have hobbies; hobbies cost money. Interests are quite free."

If you are serious about photography, then you want a SLR. I'm a hobbyist, for I just like to go out on my own and shoot. I started with a P&S, but quickly outgrew it in a few months.

Riff Raff wrote in post #4291151
Invest? My hobbies are purely money sinks. If I was making money from it, I probably wouldn't be having as much fun. Which would defeat the point... for me, at least.

I beg to differ .. I immensely enjoy being paid for something I have a ton of fun doing.

It's a hobby for me, never have made any money off of any of my pictures.

It is expensive, sometimes I go why? But then I remember how much I enjoy taking pictures...and for me it is more enjoyable with quality equipment and not being limited by my equipment

yeah hobby here as well

I've been a professional (Industrial/Commercial​)photographer for around 19 years. I had played with my sister's Kodak 110 and girlfriends disk camera during high school and never thought twice about what I was doing because those cameras didn't invite me to join in the process of creating images. In the early/mid eighties I bought a Canon T70 when I knew very little about photography. A very bright bulb lit above my head and I became hooked. I devoured every photography text I could find and when I ran out of those, I completed a degree in photography. I periodically wonder if I would have pursued the same path had I bought a point and shoot model instead of the T70.
Obviously my advice would be to get the slr. The price difference between an entry level dslr and a higher end point and shoot is minimal these days and who knows what hidden talents the more versatile dslr might uncover. Then again, great photographic talents have been discovered with more modest cameras as well.

I pay myself for the photos which I then use to fund the lenses. It's a vicious cycle. I voted hobbyist.

It's a hobby for me that ties nicely to my other hobby.

orisky wrote in post #4292292
I pay myself for the photos which I then use to fund the lenses. It's a vicious cycle. I voted hobbyist.

Wow, well put!

BSBXTi wrote in post #4291889
If you are serious about photography, then you want a SLR. I'm a hobbyist, for I just like to go out on my own and shoot. I started with a P&S, but quickly outgrew it in a few months.

yeah...i'm pretty sure i'm going to get one within the next few months...personally i'd like to get to a point where i'm somewhere in that middle group...selling a few prints every now and again


thanks everyone for the responses

if youre that good why arent you getting paid to do it? I charge my wifes parents for portraits.( I give them a little discount , but how else am I going to make a living shooting through the lens)

vpnd wrote in post #4293280
if youre that good why arent you getting paid to do it? I charge my wifes parents for portraits.( I give them a little discount , but how else am I going to make a living shooting through the lens)

You charge your wife's parents for portraits? Geez.

I am retired Military, so my main source of income so far is from that, but I make the majority of my spending money from photography. I do Model Portfolios and some fetish stuff for the money. I do fashion and fine art nudes more for the fun of it, although I keep hoping someday to mak some money from those as well.