A hobby or career?

I have recently been getting into photography and videography. But at what point do I decide to turn my hobby into a career or keep it as just that, a hobby?

There is a common discourse around hobbies and work that no matter how much you enjoy and love something, once it becomes a job you will hate it. Whether this is true or not, I can’t really say. However, I think for most people a hobby is a release and an escape from everyday life. It provides you with an avenue to explore your creativity and form community around a common shared interest. However, I am also increasingly finding that to significantly improve upon my skill I need to commit more of my time and more of my money. This is something that I have been slowly changing, seemingly unaware. I find myself taking photos whenever I have a free moment and editing together silly videos with some friends in the media labs. It is always a reprieve from everyday life.

Taking hobbies to the next level is probably something a lot of people face. A cross road between pursuing their hobby or taking it more seriously and pursuing it as a career. Personally, I can imagine how pursuing a hobby as a career could be really exciting and fun, but I can also imagine getting stuck pursuing my hobby as a career and hating it. I can understand how your hobby can become restricted and controlled and commoditised when it is a part of your everyday work-life. However, I am hopeful that when you take control of your hobby, and make sure you hone a skill in a certain way that it will allow you to enjoy your work and possibly lay out a career that will be both interesting and rewarding.

I am hoping that it is something I will be able to incorporate into any job or position I have and let it shape my goals, interests and skills. That being said, if I want to take my hobby more seriously it will require pouring in some finances, which means I need to make a return on them to make it worth my while. So, if this is something I am prepared to do, I think I will go for it!