Ever just want to quit?

[eric-holmes]

Thanks for the words everyone. Maybe I will just step back for a while. What really set me off last night was when I just finished my DIY beauty dish and got everything set up for some test shots and my trigger would misfire almost 50% of the time. Also what got m was when I downloaded a trial of CS5 and I realized how 2nd rate my PSE8 is.

 

[Josh66]

All hobbies are money pits.

What else would you spend your extra cash & free time on?

 

[Moe]

I can't figure out what's wrong with your triggers. I have the same ones and have had zero problems. Many other photographers have no problems. Have you checked the batteries in the trigger and receiver? Sometimes the recycle time on the flash is to blame. Also check the batteries in the flash. Just a few ideas!

 

[wesd]

That's how I feel right now. My wireless triggers (Cactus V4's) suck, but I can't afford better ones. I can't decide rather to upgrade to a faster lens or CS5. And then I think of all this money I could save if I just quit. I mean, I have a job. Photography isn't my job. It never will be. It is simply a hobby. Just wondering if anyone else goes through this and how do you get through it?

We all go through this at times. The only things I can say is take a break or slow it down a bit. When you are feeling better or you get some better photo opritunitys things will look up. Just keep working the best whith what you have. Hope things workout well for you just keep pluging away at it man.
Wes

 

[Josh66]

Don't put so much pressure on yourself.

If it becomes stressful, then what's the point of doing it as a hobby?

Don't let it become stressful.



Probably 80% of what I shoot is just snapshots of the kids. The other 20% is stuff I want to shoot for myself. I don't have any clients, or a boss breathing down my neck, so if they suck - I just try to do better next time. No pressure.

 

[usayit]

Yup.. exactly...

I've actually seen people stress over saving money aggressively when the next higher model camera body comes out... OMG.. WTH is wrong with people. Have fun! Cherish even snapshots....


Save your dose of stress for work.

 

[Tom Shandruk]

If you don't already, try shooting with friends or people close to you. I shoot mainly portraiture of my best friend, so when I'm feeling down about my photography, we hang out and through being with a friend, I open back up to possibilities with my camera, including shots that aren't portraits. It's a great way to relieve the stress photography brings, and a great way to be social.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

I'm confused. Didn't you have a thread not so long ago about how whatever you did to promote your photo business did not seem to bring in clients? Have I got the wrong person or do you not know if you want it to be a hobby or a profession?

Not that it really matters for this thread as you can wish to just quit photo whether you are doing it as a hobby or as a pro. But it would certainly help to know which way you want to go.

Your main problem seems to be one of money and, yes, I will say that you picked an expensive hobby/career but the reason it would help to know which way you want to go is that a hobbyist and a pro don't spend their money quite the same way.

A hobbyist pleases himself with gear. When he has the money. If he doesn't, he frustrates himself.

A pro gets the job done with whatever gear he has. If he doesn't have the gear for a job, he turns it down. Or he makes damn sure that whatever gear he buys for a job is going to be paid for really quickly by a couple more similar jobs.

Do you understand what I am saying? Two very different ways of looking at things. I NEVER buy gear unless I absolutely need it. If the gear I have can do the job, even slightly off, I will try that first. And it works out 90% of the time. The client doesn't know the difference...

I have said that more than once here on the forum: you need to be as creative with your gear as you are with your eye.

A photography business is 80% about business and 20% about photography

And, yes, KmH is right, a big chunk of success in photography is being business minded. However, I totally disagree with his 80/20 view of things. Unless you want to own the local portrait studio. If you want to go a bit further than that, you had better shoot for 50/50.

Don't put so much pressure on yourself.

If it becomes stressful, then what's the point of doing it as a hobby?

I have to agree with Josh 100%. No hobby is worth whatever stress it puts on you. A profession will always put some stress on you but you can learn to minimize it. A hobby shouldn't.

Hope that helps.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Btw, I forgot the main part of my response to you... I did quit photography once, about 7-8 years ago. I was doing just fine financially but there were other problems which I don't care to discuss here and I just up and quit.

But I'm getting back into it now.

 

[Flash Harry]

That's how I feel right now. My wireless triggers (Cactus V4's) suck, but I can't afford better ones. I can't decide rather to upgrade to a faster lens or CS5. And then I think of all this money I could save if I just quit. I mean, I have a job. Photography isn't my job. It never will be. It is simply a hobby. Just wondering if anyone else goes through this and how do you get through it?

Then forget trying to make money at it.

Doing photography for fun and having a photography business are very different things.

A photography business is 80% about business and 20% about photography, so your main interest/hobby really needs to be business.

A lot of people think if they charge for their photography they will have money to buy all the sweet gear. They don't consider all the other expenses that go with having a legal business and when they understand the risks entailed with having an illegal business they recognise the catch-22 a photography business can be.

:thumbup: very stressful too, deadlines, quality etc etc, not really worth the agro unless your turning over a fortune. H

 

[KenC]

Photography is very non-linear. In a little while you will be way ahead of where you are now and won't be able to remember how you got so frustrated or why you were having any difficulty.

 

[yaleblor]

That's how I feel right now. My wireless triggers (Cactus V4's) suck, but I can't afford better ones. I can't decide rather to upgrade to a faster lens or CS5. And then I think of all this money I could save if I just quit. I mean, I have a job. Photography isn't my job. It never will be. It is simply a hobby. Just wondering if anyone else goes through this and how do you get through it?

i quit for over 10 years ,just started to go throgh the negs an prints i didnt burn

 

[meccalli]

Look on th bright side, there's always demonoid for cs5 and alien skin bokeh for that new lens look, ...so smile and keep shooting I do it currently with a point and shoot and love it.

 

[matseski]

Do you know what is really great about photography, or almost any art form for that matter, you can produce museum quality work with things found in the the trash. Sure you may not be able to take the exact shot you have in mind right now, but you can almost always come up with something that you will enjoy just as much. Photography is capturing light on surfaces, it does not matter if that surface is a person, a landscape, or a piece of paper, the same principles of composition, exposure, and color all apply equally. You can take incredible shots with nothing but a camera, a few sheets of paper, and a few desk lamps. You can take amazing portraits with some sheets and a few lamps. You can look through your attic, trashcan, yard, anywhere and find a subject that you can make an interesting photograph from without spending any money or using any expensive specialized photography equipment. Photography is an art form, you need to be creative (and want to be creative) to achieve the results you have in mind. If you are just trying to recreate some shot that someone else made with a $100,000 budget, you are wasting your time. Be yourself, use what you have, if you find that you are missing something that you need for a shot, write the idea down and start putting away a few dollars at a time and come back to it. I used a P&S camera for 3 years while I saved up enough money to purchase my current camera. I ran into all sorts of technical shortcomings throughout my photographic ventures, but I learned things and now I can go back and revisit some of them. I still do not have any flashes, a decent tripod, filters, or a full set of lenses, let alone wireless flash triggers. For my last project, I duct tapped my tripod to a ladder to get my camera where I wanted it and used a bunch of desk lamps I found around my house for lighting, a bed sheet for a background, and and things I bought in gift shops across the years, and I am very pleased with the results. Its a lot of fun trying to figure out how to do something without having the perfect tool for the job. Sure you may not have a $50 reflector, but a $1 posterboard works well enough, or you may not be able to afford 5 speed lights, but you happen to have a few work lights laying around. You need to use your environment to your advantage, just look around, you will be amazed by what you find. Most importantly have fun looking for the shots, taking the picture is the easy part, using your eyes to see the world differently will give you a reason to get your camera out to show the rest of the world what is really out there if only you look for it.

 

[Montana]

All the time.

I did way back when....

Then I said... screw it.. stop trying to be a "professional-like-photographer" and just shoot... enjoy.

Became a computer guy instead and Enjoyed photography ever since.....





Too much self pressure to produce results can turn a hobby into a hassle...

I feel it every now and then. When it feels more like a job when its actually just a hobby that I sometimes charge for, I just stop taking on jobs and go shoot animal portraits.......i.e., something I enjoy shooting.