Last Updated: February 14th, 2020
Is photography a good hobby? Yes, I’d have to say so!
I’ve seen this question probably a hundred times now.
It pops up on a regular basis on a number of photography forums I visit.
It seems the answer is always the same, “Yeah, it can be a good hobby if you like the idea of taking pictures.”
For this post, I wanted to take a deeper look at this question and show you some concrete ways that photography can be a great hobby for you.
As I’ve learned over the course of my life exploring photography personally and, eventually, becoming a professional photographer – there is more to enjoy than “just taking pictures”. The benefits are able to enrich your life in both simple and stellar ways!
If you’re just thinking about taking up photography as a hobby, or a total beginner wondering if you should stick with it – read on!
1). It’s accessible to virtually anyone
One of the best things about photography is that it is a hobby that anyone can get into. It is actually very unique for this reason, because no matter your fitness level, age, technical abilities, etc. – you can participate!
A few areas where I’ve really seen photography as an especially important thing are for retired people, young children, and those with disabilities.
- Retired folks can often feel like they are missing a purpose. Coming out of a life of working non-stop and crazy hours to suddenly doing…not a whole lot…can be a hard transition. Retirement is supposed to be one of the best times of life. Taking up new and exciting hobbies can be one way to make this time even better!
- Younger kids go through a number of phases. If you happen to be a kid yourself (or a parent trying to find something for your children to do!), photography is a great option. It is the type of hobby that can be done no matter how much time you have to put into it and can be an excellent after school activity. As the kids turn into teenagers, it may even be the type of hobby that can help them stay out of trouble.
- In a lot of hobbies, people with disabilities can often feel left out. Having worked in the past with the disabled, I’ve seen some of these limitations first hand, and saw the frustrations that come along with it. For most, photography is a hobby that is accessible. With increasingly modernizing technology, it’s even evolving to make it possible even for blind photographers to find a way. Amazing!
In a world where there is much division, photography can really bring people together!
2). Great for making memories
Hobbyist photographers range from teenage girls taking selfies to grandparents taking photos on their tablet of their grandchildren to pro photographers capturing memories for others during a wedding celebration.
Photography has really enabled us to document our lives and put them into place for a long history.
I remember growing up and seeing sparse photos of my grandparents, even fewer of my great grandparents, and virtually none of the generations before them.
While it can be argued that people tend to overindulge with taking too many photos (and I’d probably agree in some cases), the positive outweighs the negative.
Getting to see immediate photos of my niece when she was born as great as someone who couldn’t be there day one. Snapping a few photos with my friends and family is easy, and nice for me to look back on years down the road.
I’m sure you can think of some situations where you saw photos from days gone by and instantly had a reaction!!
3). It’s fun!
One of the simplest reasons for doing anything, photography is a fun thing to do.
Some of the ways I find photography fun include:
- Learning how the camera works (and experimenting with it)
- Creating photos out of things I just thought up!
- Exploring photo editing in Lightroom and other programs at home
- Getting to meet new people who are into photography
- Traveling to new places because a photograph there would be cool
- Hiking all day just to see a sunset and have the opportunity to take a picture of it
- Sharing photos I’ve taken with friends and family
4). There is a lot to learn – and that’s good for you.
One of the best features of photography is that there is a nice learning curve to it.
If you want it to be really easy, you can have it easy. Just use a camera phone or set your beginner DSLR camera to auto-mode and you’re taking photos!
If you want to get more into the science of photography, there are so many ways to do it.
I started by looking into beginner photography resources (like books, classes, etc.) to help me get my bearings.
Over time, I started to free myself up by moving over to Manual shooting mode – allowing me to control the camera settings to get the exact shot I wanted.
While I have managed to get my photography abilities to a point where I am now a professional, I still feel I am learning things. The learning curve is really empowering, I can say!
5). It can promote better health.
While you could technically just take photographs from the comfort of your couch, I’d suggest making your photography hobby an active lifestyle.
I personally love to travel.
In the past few years my wife and I have visited places like Iceland where the photography opportunities are abundant.
We also lost like 10lbs between eating less than normal and hiking everywhere while doing this!
Of course, you don’t have to want to travel to radically new places like that. It’s not for everyone, and that is fine! Even just going out to a local park or walking through some city streets can get you up, moving, and exposed to some new things to photograph.
Photography isn’t going to make you the next Strong Man or anything, but it can help you create good habits that will have a lifetime of benefit.
6). It can relieve stress
This one could be clumped in with having better health – but I think it’s important enough to highlight on its own.
As a hobby, photography can be a great outlet for just relaxing and breathing in some fresh air. If you’re like me, I can sometimes get bored if I don’t have anything to do. I’m not good at just lounging around. But, give me a camera, and I can keep myself stimulated without stressing myself out.
Photography is a way to relax for me. I find time for it in between working 2 full time jobs and blogging. It’s an easy way to de-stress after a long day.
7). It allows you to be creative.
For some lucky people, having an artistic sense comes naturally. They can seem really gifted practically from birth.
For others (and probably most people), it takes a little more effort.
Doing things that stir our creative senses is really enjoyable, and with photography I personally have found it a little easier than say painting or making music to create something really great.
I think the reason for this is because, while photography can be challenging and technical, you can also have big victories (in the form of a really great shot) happen almost as a result of luck.
Being in the right place at the right time with a camera in hand can lead to a beautiful shot just because of what you’re seeing in front of your eyes.
As you grow as a photographer, you’ll also see your creative abilities growing too.
8). You can create your own art.
One of the immediate ways I find photography gratifying is being able to see the result of my efforts.
Shooting with a digital camera, I can quickly take photos off of my SD card and have a look through them on my computer. I pick out the best ones, and will normally edit them into the photography style my wife and I have found for ourselves.
From there, I like being able to take these final images and use them around the house. Sometimes they just stay on the computer as a wallpaper. Other times, I’ll go ahead and print out my absolute favorites to set on a table. The best of the best, they end up blown up on a canvas print like I’ve done before with a few shots.
I like being able to do this because it adds more of a personal touch to my home that is far nicer than just picking up stock art at a big box store like Target or Wal-Mart.
9). You can also bring a lot of scientific thought to it.
While a lot of focus of beginner photographers is often placed on the creative side of things, the science of photography is also really interesting.
Learning about The Exposure Triangle and how to manipulate the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture to get a good photo is one of the photography starting points.
Easily, one of the best beginner photography tips I can give you is to start learning about how light will impact your shot. The most comprehensive resource I’ve ever come across on the topic of light in photography is the book Light Science & Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting. Written by some professional photographers, they take a really deep look at lighting, and will probably open your eyes pretty significantly to what is possible.
[blockquote align=”none” author=””]Lighting, like any other language, has a grammar and vocabulary. Good photographers need to learn both. Fortunately, photographic lighting is a lot easier to master than a foreign language. This is because physics, not social whim, dictates the rules.[/blockquote]
With light – as I discovered how much control I actually have over what my images look like (in any location, at any time of day) – that’s when photography became really compelling for me.
10). It will help you better connect with your environment
Back in college, I studied psychology.
No, I didn’t do it to analyze you (though I guess if that’s what you want from my photography blog – leave a comment with your symptoms! 🙂 ).
One of the more interesting things I’ve thought over since then is how human beings can often become disconnected from a healthy environment. Sometimes this is because we are caught up in cities and never go out into nature. Other times, it’s a mental thing.
Photography comes into this by being a medium to explore the environment we are in.
We can often take for granted the things we have.
I know for myself, I’ve lived in the same general area most of my life. I used to get pretty bored going to the same couple of parks over and over again. Once I got into photography, this started to change. I would go to the park with a camera in hand, and start to notice a lot of little things that made them more interesting. In the pursuit of taking better pictures, I started to seriously look into other places I could go too – finding a lot of cool parks and other unique sights within reasonable driving distance.
11). Encourages travel to new places
I already brushed over my trip to Iceland, but this is just touching the iceberg. I find that often a passion for photography will come paired with people who want to broaden their horizons.
Growing up, I was never much of a traveler. I would find places in history books and on TV to be interesting, but never had a huge pull to actually go to some of those places in real life.
It’s through photography that I found a real motivator to pursue travel.
As I’ve already said, this travel has come in the form of both finding new local places to visit, and has gone as far as getting me on a plane to travel across the globe.
12). There are many photographer communities to join
Just being a photographer will get you exclusive admission to many photography communities around the world. That exclusive part is a bit of a joke – but there’s some truth in there. By being into photography, you’ll be setting yourself up to benefit from talking with others who are also into photography. As with any hobby or profession, we relate to people we have things in common with.
If you do a search online for “[Your Area] Photography Club” or something similar, you’ll likely find groups that meet on a consistent basis.
If you don’t necessarily want the “in real life” community, there are plenty of them online.
A few we frequent:
13). You can use photography in other areas of life
If you haven’t picked up on it by now…photography is a really powerful thing…
It is one of the few hobbies you can use in literally any aspect of life.
You can take pictures of pretty much anything.
- Document some big family event? Yes!
- Capture rocket launches into space? Sure!
- Create images for business ads? You bet!
At it’s core, anyone can pick up photography as a hobby and have a lot of fun with it. For some people, this will be enough (and that is totally fine!).
For others, it might serve as a trigger to get into public service and volunteer work. We’ve previously done photography for a JDRF charity event – which has the goal of raising funds and awareness of type 1 diabetes. Other photographers offer their time to photography-centric volunteer opportunities like those with the organization Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep – which offers free portrait photography services for families losing a child.
If you happen to really love photography and are really good at it, you can also make photography a career. If that’s something that might appeal to you (now or in the future), our post 21 Myths of a Professional Photography Career is a good place to start for more information.
14). It’s a good challenge
Photography can be easy if you want it to be. Auto shooting modes work just fine.
However, you can use photography is something that can challenge you in some serious ways.
It can be a challenge to learn how to operate a camera on your own (ie: in manual mode). It can be difficult to learn how to effectively pose people if portraits is your thing. Maybe most of all – it’s tough to figure out how to use light to its fullest potential.
With so many challenges, there are a lot of hills to climb. But, every time you win one, it feels great. The challenge isn’t for nothing!
Photography is very rewarding!!
15). It is accessible no matter your budget
One of the biggest questions I hear about people who are on the fence about getting into photography is this:
Is photography an expensive hobby?
I answer that question pretty extensively (just click the link above), but the short answer?
You can pick up photography on virtually any budget!
There are inexpensive camera kits like the Canon EOS Rebel T6 – which comes with everything you would possibly need to get started for just a few hundred bucks. It’s really the perfect investment price into a hobby you probably already have, at least, a little exposure to through taking pictures on your phone or with a friend’s camera. How many other hobbies (that involve technological equipment anyways) have such a low barrier to entry for good quality gear?
[amazon_link asins=’B01MQIFINS’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’ffl0d-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’09a059bf-4448-46cd-a984-4fd40f7ddf55′]
16). You can pair photography with many other hobbies for big results
Probably the coolest thing about photography is how you can link it up with other things you are doing.
In my little world, I love hiking and skateboarding. These are both great ways to get outside for me.
With photography, I’m able to explore these other hobbies of mine in another way. When I’m out hiking, I’ll snap photos of new places I’m visiting. When skateboarding at the local skate park, I might take a break (it’s tiring sometimes!) and take some photos of friends doing their thing.
I know others who pair photography with bird watching – what a cool thing!!
This ability to pair it with other hobbies is one of the key aspects of photography that makes it so distinct from other things we can do.
17). You will find it very rewarding – in both small and big ways!
Finally, I can argue that photography is a good hobby for pretty much anyone because it is rewarding.
There is a lot to learn, but every step of the way there is some positive reinforcement telling you that what you are doing is a good thing.
Summary
So what do you say?
Want to get started with photography as a hobby? Give it a shot today!
If you don’t even own a camera, that’s easy – we got you covered!
Check out our Recommended Gear page for a break down of the photo equipment that will help you take great photos without breaking the bank.
And when you’re ready, come back and check out our photography tutorials!