There has been a 2 year period where the majority of my income came from what I did with my camera — I was shooting for architecture and lifestyle magazines, taking photos and writing hundreds of articles somewhere between 2003 and 2007. However, after that photography has been my hobby, so making money wasn’t really important to me.
But what is? Is taking my skills further an important part of it? I guess so, as I’m trying new things and pushing myself to deliver better photos all the time. However, with my day job here at 500px, I don’t get to shoot all that often. I get to go on nature trips twice a year, which is an amazing experience, and tend to plan 3-4 portrait or fashion photoshoots a year. It’s definitely not enough for me to “get into the zone”, and keep delivering great results.
So what’s left for me is mostly shooting for myself, and just trying push myself from an “Okay” photographer to a “Good” one. It’s all subjective, so if I’m better in a year from now, it’s a good sign, I guess.
Sudip Das's Blog 