The Importance of Passion in Photography

David R Munson

David R Munson

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First of all, let me preface this by saying that I am speaking from my own personal experience. Photography is my life, and my relationship with it is perhaps much different than it may be for a lot of people for whom photography is a hobby, something simply fun, a pastime of sorts. I mean no offense to those here who want to get better at it, but for whom the sort of crazed, manic approach to photography I know all too well isn't exactly a good fit.

I've been exploring this line of thought for the last week or so, taken some notes, but could use some thoughts from others. I need some perspective before I can really work this up into the essay that I want to. Right now I'm struggling with the core of the idea.

To me, the single most important thing to the success of one's activities in photography in the long run is the presence of passion. You need to care about it. You need to find it important, significant. You need to be able to find it compelling in ways that drive you beyond what you can necessarily articulate to those around you.

If you cannot find that kind of passion within photography, I have serious doubts about one's ability to find any significant development of work or ability to improve over the long run. Photography is difficult if you're really serious about it. Hell, I have suffered extensively and will continue to suffer at the hand of photography. It is the mountain I will climb throughout the course of my life. It is an ongoing process, it is a hell of a lot of work, the gains are hard-won, and it is worth it every inch of the way.

Why the doubt? Specifically because it is so difficult to make the gains we all want. One has to give oneself to the process in a very heavy way to make things happen. Not that it's not enjoyable, of course, but it isn't easy. I think that if the passion is there, we accept the burden and do what we need to do in order to do what is really important to us.

One must be willing to suffer for one's art if that is the goal. Again, I don't mean to suggest that pursuing art need be painful or suffering all the way around, but one must deal with those times in order to keep moving forward. It can't all be gain after gain.

What I'm working my way around to is this: those of you who feel that passion in the pursuit of photography, I want to hear about it. What is your experience? What do you feel the significance of passion is in your work, in your continued pursuit? How does it affect your direction, your process, your editing, your final images?

I want to understand better the role of passion in the practice of photography. Your observations are immensely appreciated.
 
David R Munson said:
First of all, let me preface this by saying that I am speaking from my own personal experience. Photography is my life, and my relationship with it is perhaps much different than it may be for a lot of people for whom photography is a hobby, something simply fun, a pastime of sorts. I mean no offense to those here who want to get better at it, but for whom the sort of crazed, manic approach to photography I know all too well isn't exactly a good fit.

I've been exploring this line of thought for the last week or so, ...

To me, the single most important thing to the success of one's activities in photography in the long run is the presence of passion. You need to care about it. You need to find it important, significant. You need to be able to find it compelling in ways that drive you beyond what you can necessarily articulate to those around you.

If you cannot find that kind of passion within photography, I have serious doubts about one's ability to find any significant development of work or ability to improve over the long run. ...

One must be willing to suffer for one's art if that is the goal. Again, I don't mean to suggest that pursuing art need be painful or suffering all the way around, but one must deal with those times in order to keep moving forward. It can't all be gain after gain. ...

I want to understand better the role of passion in the practice of photography. Your observations are immensely appreciated.
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Equals = ZEN.
 
PASSION should exist in All of One's Endeavours
otherwise Life is not Worth Living....
even to a passionate rejuvenating Blissful Sleep

In agreement...Best- H :)
 
This is obvious. If there is no passion, you will not get good at anything. Getting a great result, getting to the top of any pursuit takes some talent, and a lot of hard work, and without the passion the hard work is not going to come by. Then, there is intelligence and luck. If you have these too, then maybe you will become famous and well off before you die.

If you look at photographers like Kertesz, it is just striking, that he lived most of his professional life on passion alone, I think he became famous in his seventies.

Nowadays, in all this sea of digi vomit, I am wondering if it makes sense to try to make a living with photography, maybe yes, but I am still waiting to see something aesthetically convincing to emerge.
 
You absolutely have to have a passion for anything you want to be good at. And you have to care about who or what you are photographing for the images to be successful. But...

Photography, even at it's highest levels, should never be work. You should never have a sense of suffering for your art. It really is very Zen. You have to relax. You can't pursue photos. You can put yourself in a place where photos will happen, but they have to come to you. You have to be in the moment, and that's the hardest thing for most people.

Passion for photography and people, absolutely. But then you have to let go.
 
"Passion" has become a tainted word: "We are passionate about our customers" or "about empowering our customers" BUT in the end what mattered was the revenue expected by the company headquarters. First I was sceptic when I started reading your article but then I saw what kind of passion you meant.
Passion should be the constant glow and not some mania you feel when taking/developing/chossing the picture. Out of my own experience:"Hey I felt so great, so passionate while taking those photos why did they turn out so.... average.
Oh yes the suffering: It will come when confronted with people who smirk and say things like "Listen do you expect to make a living out of that?" Also when you are short for money sometimes and projects you had to work on for a very long are hard to sell and you start to ask yourself if you really are a good photographer or if the smirkers from the last sentence could have been right.
 
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How do you reconcile the passion for photography with Buddhism? The cause of suffering is desire (or passion, or striving)?

Or perhaps you don't reconcile the 2. Perhaps they represent a Duality?
 
Since we've gotten into Zen and all, I'll simply say that I tend to approach most every new photographic project with an experienced hand, but with "beginner's mind", sort of a path of many possibilities. This isn't an excuse for muddle-headedness, but a vital channel for approaching creative challenges from more than the usual handful of angles. For me, it also makes the process a whole lot more fun.

Passion? It's definitely in there, in fact, woven throughout.

crawdiddy said:
How do you reconcile the passion for photography with Buddhism? The cause of suffering is desire (or passion, or striving)?

Or perhaps you don't reconcile the 2. Perhaps they represent a Duality?
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There are always contradictions. But you can suffer from that which you don't understand, or worse, fear.


- Barrett
 
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crawdiddy said:
How do you reconcile the passion for photography with Buddhism? The cause of suffering is desire (or passion, or striving)?

Or perhaps you don't reconcile the 2. Perhaps they represent a Duality?
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I approach it often in the same way I approach meditation. It is not uncommon for them to overlap. It is often an exercise in mindfulness, in realizing what is already there before me. It is an exercise in understanding, or perhaps in letting go the need to understand. It's a slippery thing, hard to explain.

EDIT: Also, yes, "suffering" certainly has become a tainted word. Still, we do suffer for our art at times. We are human, and we find ourselves at odds with the currents of things flowing through our lives at times. What we feel is right is not in line with prevailing influences, and we must work through it. There inlies suffering of a kind. It can also be a matter of battling ourselves, resolving the conflict between what we believe and what we feel.
 
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Well I certainly wouldn't use the terms 'crazed' and 'manic' about my approach to photography but passion certainly is there ... after all, I am one of those for whom photography is "... a hobby, something simply fun, a pastime of sorts ...". I make no money from photography, I don't even try to and I have no desire to, so it seems to me that the only reason that I continue to spend as much time as I do taking and looking at photos is for the sheer joy and passion for doing it.

Sadly, being passionate does not necessarily make me any good at it.
 
Like others have said, passion should be a part of everything you do. I'm passionate about this bowl of cereal I'm currently having. Cheerios - yum.

Photography is a medium built on so many things. I feel a deep sense of interest in people and in what they do; in objects and in how they are arranged; in the different shades the sky appears in and the unique sense of light it often brings.

I'm still so new to the whole damn thing. I've barely cracked at anything yet. But it's a hell of a good feeling to have gotten a shot that you aimed for. It's even better when you think that you've missed a moment, but at the end of the development process, realize it turned out even better.

I try to avoid taking photographs that are even vaguely similar to others. It's the hardest thing to do. Going through flickr, I see a hundred damn portraits where all the subjects have virtually the same exact expression. It's the worst.

Those are the feelings that generally propel me to seeking out the next photograph, even if it was preceded by a hundred others that were a sham.
 
David R Munson said:
What do you feel the significance of passion is in your work, in your continued pursuit? How does it affect your direction, your process, your editing, your final images?
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For me the passion is in the pursuit of understanding what photography is and exploring its boundaries. I am currently doing this by simplifying my approach in terms of subject matter so I can concentrate on the actual photograph, process and theory.

www.urbanpaths.net
 
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Passion perhaps in the eye of the beholder, but the successful practitioner is usually very relaxed, laid back, confident in what he/she is doing. Doubt doesn't fit well into the mix. I don't think that I've met many photographers who'd describe themselves as passionate about photography.
 
What I'm saying is that what appears to be passion to the observor might be a lot of things. At times I get very involved, intense, focused on what I'm doing at the moment. Some might see that as passion. I might see it as not wanting to be late for a date.

I often cover a political event, shoot a bunch of rolls of film, and people will remark "I never saw you shoot any pictures!" Does that make me less passionate? Or am I just projecting an illusion of lack of passion? Maybe it's a matter of being at ease in the situation and with the people.
 
Al Kaplan said:
Passion perhaps in the eye of the beholder, but the successful practitioner is usually very relaxed, laid back, confident in what he/she is doing. Doubt doesn't fit well into the mix. I don't think that I've met many photographers who'd describe themselves as passionate about photography.
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I think of the passion I bring to my work as a very quiet thing, something I don't necessarily "feel" every moment, nor is it something that is externally obvious to anyone. But it's nevertheless essential to my even being out somewhere with a camera.


- Barrett
 
Family = passion
Work/Wages = necessity
Photography = passtime/hobby

Relax, take some photo's and enjoy yourself.
 
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