If you need an excuse to make photography your hobby, I’m here to help with three good reasons!
Folklore in our family says that I’ve always seen things. Skip and I will be walking, and he’ll realize I’m no longer by his side. Glancing back, he’ll see me crouched over a plant or a crack on the pavement. When I catch up, he always says that’s one of the first things he loved about me. I saw things he missed.
One of the first things I loved about him? He thought that quirky photography hobby of mine was wonderful!
Reason Number One to make photography your hobby: It’s good for your health!
Have you ever been told to reduce your stress, or exercise more, or even take up meditation, all for your health? Then let me introduce you to your new health spa: photography.
Exercise can be an adventure!
Going to the gym to work out is a chore. Taking a walk with your camera is an adventure! But can you have the best of both worlds? Yes! When you plan a photography trip to somewhere where you’ll need to be fit, like a walk along the Great Wall of China, you’ll have the motivation to go to the gym!
Meanwhile, you’ll enjoy your photography hobby and get a natural workout. If you throw on a camera backpack, you’re now doing some weight training. And don’t forget about getting low to shoot close to the ground. That’s stretching!
When my friend finished shooting on this beach in Cape Town, she was wet and thrilled with her photos! A 10-pound kettlebell can’t promise that!
Reduce stress naturally when you make photography your hobby.
Meditation? Have you ever spent time with a group of photographers? It always amazes me to see how a group of us can spend 30 minutes in the same location and come out with such wildly different photographs. Joe and Sarita sat next to each other in this tea shop in Shanghai. You would never know it from their photos!
If you throw in a field of lavender, it’s even easier to get lost in meditation.
One of my favorite places to shoot is a market. It could be our local award-winning Williamsburg Farmers Market or a market in a country overseas like this one in Istanbul.
I get lost in the repeated patterns of vegetables or flowers. Or the color combinations. Throw in some interesting shadows and a stealthy hand reaching for a peach, and I’m deep in photography meditation, one of the benefits of making photography your hobby.
Be in the present moment.
Not only that, but most people will walk through the place, buy what they need, and leave. Photographers will spend much longer just absorbing the sights, focusing on the present moment, and seeing the art in the commonplace. I loved watching these local women shop for yarn at the market in Xinjie, China. Their clothing was colorful and unique, and the backdrop of the multicolored yarn just made it better.
All of that is great stress relief!
Reason Number Two: Photography is the creative outlet you have with you!
My friend, Lynn, is light on her feet in Paris, as she maneuvers to get the perfect shot of the Basilica in Montmartre. And photography isn’t her only hobby.
Like most creatives, she and I both have many hobbies and the equipment to go with them!
Quilting? Well, that requires a table to cut on, along with a cutting mat and tools. Then throw in a sewing machine for some of my quilting projects. And, of course, there’s the fabric stash piled high in the closet.
Gardening? Oh my. I’ll compare my gardening tools with yours any day! I think I love the process as much as I do the garden!
Painting? Well, that would require paints, paper, canvas, and maybe an easel. Oh, and of course, brushes! And a place for the painting to dry.
Your tools are portable when you make photography your hobby.
The problem that these hobbies have in common is all that equipment! It’s hard to just pick up and go. That’s why you should make photography your hobby!
Yes, I have a closet full of photography equipment, but I can travel as lightly as I want when I’m out shooting!
At the lightest and most basic, I always have my iPhone, which means I can always enjoy my hobby!
Reason Number Three: Making photography your hobby allows you to capture moments to remember.
Have you recorded the passage of time in your family? Do you have photos of your children from when they were little? These become precious memories for us and the kids when they grow up and have their own children!
When I was a child, my aunt bought me a thoroughly impractical silk baby dress in France. That called for a professional photo. When my daughter was the same age, I repeated the tradition with a professional image of her in the dress. Last year, her daughter was old enough to wear the dress. This time, I took the photo. I’ll repeat the tradition with my other granddaughters. Each time, the dress is then carefully packed away in acid-free tissue in an acid-free box. My hope is yet another generation will carry on the tradition.
Bring back memories.
Besides family portraits, there are so many other moments that are worth capturing. When you make photography your hobby, photos you shoot of a landscape freeze a moment in nature and take you back. Pictures from a trip can make you laugh all over again. I love this shot of European cars designed with parking space in mind.
Street scenes bring back the sounds and smells as you gaze at the photo, and sunsets bring back the stories of where you were.
Skip and I were on our way to dinner in Seoul when these Lotus Dancers paraded by. Having my camera with me meant I could come home with memories to share.
So, imagine having a hobby that provides health benefits while being portable. Then add in the memories you’ll capture. That’s precisely why you should make photography your hobby!
Now it’s your turn:
Ready to understand your DSLR or Mirrorless Camera to take photos you love, check out my Camera Mechanics Workshop here. It’s online, so it’s easy to take.
You can read more about patience, planning, and the rewards of photography as a hobby here: https://www.carolinemaryan.com/improve-your-photography-with-patience/
To learn more about our local market, click here: https://williamsburgfarmersmarket.com/.
You might also like
Leave a reply