I want to understand the fascination some people have with this theme. How did you started with it? Is it a Hobby or your Job? I am not a native speaker, still learning english, so sorry for mistakes.
I was working in a very tough industry working with some pretty traumatizing stuff. I use photography to inject joy and color directly into my brain to give me dopamine and chase away the demons lol
I stick with it because it genuinely gives me joy to show people how gorgeous they are and accentuate their natural features with just a little bit of lighting and knowledge on how to pose. People leave my sessions feeling good about themselves and keep getting compliments once they use my images.
i was studying fine art and wanted to learn something that i could be employed at. although i love it for its artistic merits i chose to focus on it because it could pay the bills. this was in the 80’s. my first job was at the one hour photo in the mall and i have been working in photography for the past 40 years.
I like how it shows me perspective and helps me appreciate the moment.
How you can make your own little world in a small frame, you can make photos that look like they were taken on another planet, in another universe, etc. I love fantasy and just very avant garde type of photography and it’s always so fun to have creative liberty on what I’m making
It’s art with real life as the canvas
I love photography because I can show other people the world as I see it.
I’ve always liked art but I have a science brain so it’s the only artistic medium I’m naturally good at.
For personal photos, I love recording memories in that medium, draws me back into whatever was happening or whatever I was doing at the time.
For client/photos of others, I just really enjoy the reaction people have to a good photo of them doing something really cool or looking really good. It’s a nice feeling to be able to give someone the same experience I have when I take photos for myself.
Also it’s just fun, I love collecting gear, I love the color and light science stuff, it’s one of the few things I can obsess over in terms of learning new techniques, researching new or experimental gear, and its just a really easy way to say “I wonder what would happen if I did this?” And being able to produce something.
The memories and the beauty captured in a photo.
My wife’s father is retired & loves his golf game to an extreme. I recently showed him some night sky photos I took when visiting his home. A little puzzled, he asked “what do you do with them?”…in a nice friendly manor I asked “what do you do with your golf game after it’s done?”
No criticism was intended. My question back was only to try and explain that just doing the activity was fun. Like reading, playing a game, watching a show it doesn’t have to be anything more then a pleasure doing it. If I record a great moment it’s even more satisfying to know (along with luck) I helped create the appeal of it with my skill set.
Great anecdote! Someone occasionally asks me what I plan on doing with my photography, meaning how do I plan on making money off of it. No one asked me that question about hiking when I was an avid backpacker. But I see hiking and photography as the same thing: they’re just activities that I enjoy and that enrich my life.
It’s super exciting for me when I am shooting bangers. Adrenaline rush when it all comes together.
It’s an accessible way to make beautiful art. I can express myself creatively with it.
It’s just the right level of challenge to hold my interest. There’s always something new to learn and skills I can improve without it ever feeling overwhelming.
It’s a way to preserve memories of people and places.
It’s a motivating factor to get me to go out and do stuff and see things that I might not otherwise experience. Getting out of bed before dawn to shoot a sunrise. Traveling to some of the most beautiful places on the planet. Exploring the nooks and crannies of my own neighborhood in search of visually interesting things. Learning about history and the natural world.
And in the end I always have some cool pictures to look at.
The kinda of photos I want to take requires me to talk to ppl and I like that
I just like pretty pictures
For me it is a hobby I picked up 15+ years ago. I grew up with national geographic magazines in the house. I may not have read every issue I always loved how stunning their images were. The amazing people and places they showed. It was much different fairly boring small town and the mid sized city that we lived closed to.
Part of it was I wanted a hobby that I could explore more of the artistic side and photography felt very accessible to me. It’s also has a lot of different genres to explore is a great reason to travel more and it’s a hobby where I can always keep growing and learning.
I like the idea of being able to look at something that has already happened but still exists in some way. It becomes a reference for memory and how you look at a picture can change or evolve over time, too. Pictures taken ten years ago can take on a different meaning today. They can also be a bit mysterious and pose more questions than answers becoming a good thought exercise. Pictures can form their own version of reality depending on who is looking at them.