Photography may start as a hobby, but it often becomes an obsession. Here are 12 ways to tell if you’ve been bitten by the bug and become a dedicated photographer.
01 You’re never without a camera
This one is a no-brainer. If you’re a dedicated photographer you’ll feel a compulsion to carry a camera wherever you go.
If you’re going out on a hot date you might (at a push) opt for a slim compact in your jacket pocket, or maybe your smartphone (there are some great iPhone shots out there), but you need the reasurrence of having some form of camera with you in case something exciting should happen, the light is amazing or perhaps the wine glasses just have a really interesting shape.
You’ll also have an everyday ‘carry-everywhere’ camera so you can capture your commute to work and get some photographic release at lunch time.
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02 Dirty knees
If you see a great shot, a patch of mud or a puddle isn’t going to stop you capturing it.
You’re not afraid to get your knees dirty or develop a stiff back in pursuit of you passion, the ends justify the means and the cleaning bills. Good for you.
03 Excessive interest in the weather
As every dedicated photographer knows, good light is key to a great photograph and it doesn’t take long before most photographers start developing an obsessive interest in the weather.
Will it be sunny/frosty/foggy tomorrow? What type of clouds will there be and at what time will they roll in?
The TV weather forecast usually starts out as the source of knowledge, but it soon leads to checking websites and looking at local and national forecasts in an attempt to calculate where you should be and at what time.
If you’re tweeting about the weather, asking for information from people in your chosen location or letting others know that it’s a bit overcast where you are, you’ve got the photo bug.
SEE MORE: 6 ways to keep shooting when it rains
04 You think in aperture and sensitivity values
If you find yourself calculating exposures even when you’re not taking photographs, your photography is starting become a consuming passion. And that’s a good thing!
If you’re weighing up what shutter speed you’d need to use to freeze the movement of the bus you’ve just got on or are trying to decide what sensitivity setting you’d use on the underground without a camera to your eye, you’ll be so much better prepared when you do have your finger on the shutter release.
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05 You mention the light – a lot
It doesn’t matter whether you’re in a meeting at work, in the pub with a few friends or picking up the kids from school, there are times when you’re so transfixed by the quality of the light that you just have to mention it.
If you’re lucky there might be another photographer nearby who is happy to debate your choice of white balance setting.
More often than not though, you’ll just get half-hearted aknowledgement from whoever you are with and you’ll spend 5 minutes trying to educate them before the light goes. Never mind.
SEE MORE: See the light like a pro – everything you were afraid to ask about using natural light
06 If you won the lottery you know exactly what you’d buy
You might be 100% happy with your camera and all your kit, but if funds were unlimited there’s a dream camera or lens out there that you’d buy in a heartbeat.
Perhaps you’ve always lusted after something from Leica, or you’d love to take your sports photography further with a Canon 1Dx and a 200-400mm f/4L lens – the one with the 1.4x converter that costs the thick end of £9,000/$12,000.
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