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I almost clicked “I don’t want to” but that’s only true for the moment. I first considered the possibility of going pro in 2010 and soon after that thought I bought my first (and still current) DSLR (a Canon Rebel T1i; my photography budget is pretty much zero). I began studying and practicing photography obsessively and by 2012 I was shooting exclusively manual and RAW. Then I spent a couple of years obsessively learning about business. Then, during a class I took in mid-2014, I got seriously put off by the idea of going into business. I didn’t decide against it for good, but it has been on the back burner ever since.
One reason I was put off by the idea of going into business by that class is that I felt belittled when I asked questions about getting into business part time and taking it slow. I was told that I’d be hurting other photographers somehow.
I also worry a bit that that making photography my job will take away the joy of it. (So I could have checked “I’m afraid” too.) I definitely balk at the business side of going into business. Not sure I want to deal with all that.
And I know I don’t want to make portraits. That would be horribly boring. So I was so excited to discover the style “family photojournalist.” I was doing that already with my own family! I have seriously considered doing it professionally. I’m not sure I have the best personality for it though. Some time after I put going pro on the back burner I decided to learn about stock photography, but I haven’t gotten around to that yet. Part of my excuse is that I’m busy with my kids. They’re 15, 13, and 10, and homeschoolers.
So, currently, I’m continuing to practice photography and just enjoying it. And thinking maybe, just maybe, someday I might start thinking again about going pro.