I am not a professional photographer and I don't want to be either. Matt Day pretty much explains all the reasons why I would not want to be a professional photographer, in this honest video.

Following is not about photography, but it's similar.

Many years ago, I built a recording studio with one of my oldest friends since that's what I always wanted to do. I put all my spare time into building it and then running it, not full time since I had my regular job as well, but on a semi pro level so to speak. For years, it totally killed my passion for music, having to record, sure some good but more often not so good music. Projects that I didn't want but had to do, so I can really relate to this.

I often read in forums where people desperately wants to be full time professional photographers. They want it so much, but I don't think they have a clue of what they're getting themselves into. I think they have a pretty romanticised version of what it's like to "be a pro". For some it would mean that you get to travel the world, shooting landscapes and animals for National Geographic, or shooting fashion shows or editorials for Vogue or something like that, depending on what you're into. For a few lucky people (they are few compared to how many people there are who wants to), that dream comes through.
But for most people who try out being a pro, they'll end up struggling to find jobs, and when they find them, they're not fun projects, but boring ones, with customers who doesn't want to pay. This struggle kills their passion for photography and they'll end up shooting catalogues for shitty school kids, something as repetitive as working on an assembly line, and they'll have to do it just to survive.

So absolutely no thanks.

But watch the video.