Why do we do what seems to involve us?

[The_Traveler]

There has been a discussions on how difficult it is to be creative in a career.
For those of us who pursue a career as a creative person or who do photography for 'creative' reasons, what is it that you expect to get out of it and what is it that you hope to get out of it?

 

[The_Traveler]

And has either the hope or the expectation changed?

 

[Designer]

..what is it that you expect to get out of it and what is it that you hope to get out of it?

I'm just that way. I can't help it.

I have no real expectations arising from my obsession, other than the simple satisfaction of having made something.

Oh, gee, maybe I don't qualify.

 

[The_Traveler]

..what is it that you expect to get out of it and what is it that you hope to get out of it?

I'm just that way. I can't help it.

I have no real expectations arising from my obsession, other than the simple satisfaction of having made something.

Oh, gee, maybe I don't qualify.

I don't think there is anything necessarily to qualify for.

I see people working really hard at things, making pictures, learning, progressing, arguing - and I wonder if people ever think about why they are doing it and really what they expect/hope to get out of it.

I know for myself but I'd really like to hear from other people.

Why do you choose photography rather than something else?
Obsession isn't just a bare, DNA-driven lust.
There must be something about photography that fuels that obsession.

 

[480sparky]

I do it because I enjoy it.

 

[The_Traveler]

I do it because I enjoy it.

Why do you enjoy photography?

 

[runnah]

I have to do something I am passionate about. If I do not, I do very poorly at the task.

 

[The_Traveler]

I have to do something I am passionate about. If I do not, I do very poorly at the task.

yes, but what is it about photography that entices you?

 

[runnah]

I have to do something I am passionate about. If I do not, I do very poorly at the task.

yes, but what is it about photography that entices you?

Something I do not know how to do well enough for me to get bored of it.

 

[480sparky]

I do it because I enjoy it.

Why do you enjoy photography?

Same reason I enjoy good food, stimulating conversation and sex.

 

[fjrabon]

I had hoped at one point to be a professional sports photographer working for a top agency/magazine/paper regularly. I worked my butt off. I built up a good portfolio, I built contacts. I became a full time sports photographer for a studio that had contracts to cover HS sports. I got to know the right people in the industry.

Then I got a job offer at a pretty good name outlet.

Then I looked at the salary being offered. Given the city it was in, it was below a living wage.

I think that's the point where my expectation changed. I gave up on being a professional sports photographer. I had been offered a job that really should be a landing spot, a final destination, and it wouldn't have been enough to support myself without supplemental work (and lots of it) let alone a potential family.

So I let it go.

And since then I've been happier. Freed from having to produce deliverable product, I began again to try to develop my passions. I again started doing things I'm not good at (like street) because I enjoy them and I enjoy trying new things.

That's not to say careers in photography are impossible or even bad choices. But I'm *personally* much happier with photography and I get a lot more out of it when I don't have to depend on it to put food on the table.

If I go out tomorrow and take a shitty photograph I can just learn from it. I don't have to worry about losing a client. I can worry about what I want to express instead of what the client wants to see. And I can take occasional paying gigs when they fit my schedule for a little extra cash, not because I have to because I depend on it to pay rent.

When I stopped depending on photography, I started loving photography again. These days all I expect out of it is to get that part of my being out there, that part I need to express that I can't get out with just words.

 

[deeky]

For me, it has simply been an outlet for creative energy. I find that, without a release of that creative energy, I tend to get quite restless and twitchy.

Why photography? Perhaps somewhat by default. My mom introduced me to photography as a kid. I love going places and capturing what I experience. In doing so, it has really become more about the process and experience for me than the final image. Although, I do take it as a personal challenge to create better final images as a part of the process. Further, beyond equipment acquisition, it is a pretty cheap hobby to participate in, which is an issue for me. It's also something I can take with me about anywhere.

I have a couple of other creative outlets as well. I do some fly tying, have built a couple of rods, and do a little writing. Photography tends to be my primary medium at the moment.

 

[baturn]

It's a means to an end for me. I used to hunt and fish for the same reason. It gives me an excuse to be outdoors where I have always been happiest. In a way it's a means of taking trophies without killing anything or otherwise disturbing nature/ the environment.

 

[Forkie]

I don't pretend that photography or any other creative activity I do is a way for me to express some emotion or idea that I have no other outlet for. Whereas this may be true on some sub-conscious level or may be what a psychiatrist might conclude, but it's certainly not a conscious or deliberate reason.

Consciously, I have a few reasons:

1. I simply love things that look cool. When I was a kid playing with action figures, where my brother would really play with his, making them fight each other with noises and crashing them into each other, I used to set mine up into little scenes or poses on my shelf. This is why I love portraiture so much - I like putting people in a cool-looking position and keeping it. My imagination conjures up thoughts and actions and scenarios for the "character" in the shot.

2. I have a genuine love for artistic performance and creative endeavours and find it a very attractive quality in people to the point where I have a preference for dating girls who are either actors, designers of various types, writers, dancers or whatever other art can be performed or "shown-off". I simply want to be one of them! If a profile comes up on Tinder that says "I work in finance/sales/management" - that's an immediate swipe left!

3. Ego. I unashamedly enjoy being told I've done something good. Again, on some sub-conscious level, that could be a sign of low self-esteem or a confidence issue, but what the hell, it feels good!

 

[mmaria]

2. I have a genuine love for artistic performance and creative endeavours and find it a very attractive quality in people to the point where I have a preference for dating girls who are either actors, designers of various types, writers, dancers or whatever other art can be performed or "shown-off". I simply want to be one of them! If a profile comes up on Tinder that says "I work in finance/sales/management" - that's an immediate swipe left!

What's wrong with "I work in management"!!!!!?