Sion said:If you can make money out of the photography hobby, why not? If you enjoy what you are doing, you probably will try to be good in it.
I can't see myself shooting just for posting in photo forums, entering photo competitions or hanging the prints on the wall. If I haven't had "commercialized" my photography, I don't think my interest in photography will last this long. :bsmilie:
The up sides of making money out of photography? Better and more expensive equipments and upgrading because they are self-financed. Tax reductions for all photography related expenses if the side income from photography is susbstantial enough.
Because you are pitting your works against the professionals, you are more quality conscious and experimenting more to develop a signature and always improving your products rather than shooting just for fun.
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I totally disagree. If I had stayed shooting for profit, as I did for a short while way back then, my photography skill/results will probably had improved much more much faster, but my interest and passion in photography will probably had suffered that much more.
Shooting purely for fun is the drive that pushed me to where I am now. Just me. I will not change it a bit.