Do you regret getting into photography?

Question

Ever since I discovered photography, everywhere I go I'm constantly looking around thinking to myself "Oh, that would be a nice picture and that would be pretty". I can't just go somewhere and enjoy myself. It's kind of annoying....but good at the same time because I really enjoy taking pictures. Do any of you feel the same way? Any thoughts on this?

Answer 1

Do i regret getting into photography?

No, not really, it's always fun to take pictures, i never get payed for them, it's really just a hobby in my spear time. Sometimes i go days without using my camera, because there's nothing to take pictures of, which i call photographic boredom. However, every once in a while, i get a really nice photo which everyone likes, and it makes being a photographer ( amateur ) all worth while. However, sometimes it get really boring, and there's nothing to photograph.

Do i regret into getting into photography ( 2 )?

For the money yes, photography is very expensive, i've spent almost one thousand dollars on cameras, lenses, and accessories. No, i'm tired of my old D40, and want a more advanced camera, but i don't have any money. At fourteen, who makes money ? lol. But other than the money woes, no, i don't regret getting involved in photography.

Answer 2

I've never regretted getting into photography but I know exactly what you mean about looking at everything in terms of what kind of picture it would make.  I don't really see that as a downside because it's helped me to me more creative.

Answer 3

There was a point in my life when I refused to pick up a camera if it wasn't for money. I even bought my husband a camera to take snap shots of the kids. I really credit digital and a local camera club for giving me back my hobby. I do regret that I got so jaded for a while. As far as it being my chosen career, it really defines who I am.

Hobby pictures : http://www.flickr.com/photos/perki88/

Answer 4

i just started photography but yea i understand what ur talking about, i def dont regret it, but i carry my camera around EVERYWHERE i go, ppl stare and everything but i dont even notice i just take 100s of pics until i find one i like,  its pretty time consuming.

Answer 5

I don't regret it.

Sometimes I do look at things around me and think about the prospects for taking photographs, and it can be distracting, but I think it's even worse when you see a good shot and you don't have a camera at hand!

Generally, more you do in life, the more lenses you'll see the world through. If you study architecture, you'll probably think differently about the buildings you see every day; if you read a novel or see a movie set in some city, you might view that location differently when you go there; if you meet some people who work in an industry you never thought much about before, you might think about them when you go shopping and look at particular items in the store. These conceptual relationships can be distracting, but they also enrich your life: the more perspectives you have, the more unique your outlook!

Answer 6

it is true, i think i adapted a photographic eye and it gives me a new perspective on the world, it only frustrates me when im watching movies because in looking at the scenery instead of paying attention to the story. Other than that i like it and i would never regret it.

Answer 7

I think photography is like anything else we do, either professionally or for leisure.  When we know something about it, we always end up paying more attention to it than your average lay person.  Once upon a time in my life, I worked as a fire alarm service technician.  I went around to places like schools, nursing homes, hotels, and even 70 story skyscrapers downtown and made sure all of their life/safety equipment was up to code, panels with no trouble faults and the like.  Well, you know what's funny about that?  Everytime I stay in a hotel, I always make it a point to check their fire alarm panel to make sure there's no trouble fault on it.  Most of the time, the panels are visible to the public - but are not known by the general public.  Most people don't realize what they are for, they just see a panel with lights on it.  Some green, some yellow.  Green lights are good.  Yellow lights mean the system is in fault.  Red lights mean the building is on fire.  If I see a yellow, I don't stay at that hotel - then I remind the concierge behind the desk that they should call their fire alarm service guy.

The same is true with photography.  I sometimes view an image as a photography snob, we're all guilty of it.  And to some degree, perhaps you have a point.  Maybe it does take away from simply looking at an image and seeing it for what it's worth.  But the truth is, when I look at an image, I wish to find what I like or dislike about it, not just look at it for the sake of looking.  If I like it, I know why.  I don't regret anything.

Answer 8

Every time you see something that you think "Oh, that would be a nice picture and that would be pretty" thank the shutterbug in you that you noticed it in the first place...then just enjoy it.

Answer 9

Yeah.  This might be a cheesy analogy, but there is a song called 3 x 5 by John Mayer.  This is a line from it:  

"didn't have a camera by my side this time

hoping I would see the world through both my eyes"

Every time I find myself say watching the fireworks through my little camera lens or getting so preoccupied in taking photos that I'm not really taking it all in, I think of that and put down the camera.  It's good to have memories recorded as photos, but sometimes the memories themselves are just as good.

Answer 10

I do, but I don't. I knew going into the field that it wasn't growing and that finding a job would be impossible. Money or not I love doing it.

Answer 11

Never a regret!  My only regrets are that I don't have my camera with me, and that gets annoying.  Like when we went to King's Island (a theme park near Cincinnati) and I knew we'd spend a good part of the day at the water park, I left my camera home.  But there were beautiful things to photograph there!  The rides glowed in the sunshine with the menacing clouds gathering in the background.  Then on the way home there was a fabulous rainbow over a golden landscape.  They live only in my memory now.  And I could have put my camera in the locker with our clothes at the water park.

Answer 12

I think I actually appreciate the world around me more, based on my photographic experience. The only frustration for me comes when I find myself in a place where the light is *just right* and I've left my camera somewhere else.

Answer 13

I've felt the same way for 25 years, for the same reason.  The up side is that as a photographer, I know how to "see" better than I did before, so I enjoy more.

Of course, my wife will point at something and say "Isn't that pretty?" and I'm like... "Well yeah, but it will be better when the sun is lower or the shadows aren't so harsh."

Another good part is I'm usually the  hero of the family because I print and give photos to people after events like Christmas or Thanksgiving.