Direction and Interests

Great Blue Heron

For the last few months I've been thinking a great deal about what I can do to reach my long term goals. One of my personal goals is to not just be a photography hobbyist, but rather to take it to the next level. I know that will take a far bit of time because I have only taken my photography seriously in the last few years, but that is still my dream. Now I've realized that a great deal of work, including self promotion, not one of my strong points at this time, will be required in order to achieve my dream. So for the time being, when I'm not working my even/night job, or out taking photos, I'm searching the local job listings for people who are looking for photo assistants. Even though portait work isn't something I've done a great deal of, most of my friends are camera shy, I've done some for a few people I know and I enjoyed it, although not as much as nature photography. Another possibility is to mix my love of photography with writing, something else I like doing, although the though of trying to compete in the already saturated market of photography books is a little overwhelming.

Another option is to take a mix of photography and business classes and at some point start my own photography business. That option is something I'm not so sure about. As much as I'd like to work for myself and not someone else, I'd rather not having to deal with the buisness end of things to be honest. I guess I'm one of those types of people who likes to get out, and go places rather than sit in an office somewhere, which is most likely why photography is so enjoyable for me. The advantage of working for myself would be that I'd not be tied to someone else in terms of scheduling, which would be nice as it would allow for more flexibility in terms of how I would do my work. Then again the problem of self promotion comes to play, if I did start a business I think I'd need someone else to run the business end of things, which would be an added expense. I also don't want to do something that would take the joy out of photography, which is one of the reasons I do not want to get too tied down in the office environment. I still have a lot of things to consider as I look forward to a photography related job, so I'll end on that note.