Working parents of young children: how do you get time to do hobby photography?

For those of you who are working (M-F 9-5) parents of young children: do you get any time to do hobby photography? If so, care to share how? Thanks!

Used the kids and their friends as models. In those years I had limited photo opportunities in my own yard year round. They make great subjects.

Kids in the push chair - walk walk walk.. As they got older, Judo, Soccer, Horse Riding offered more picture opportunities. Friends and family birthdays opportunities galore.. I would walk to the local car sales places and photograph cars, trucks vans galore.. Endless opportunities.. L

When our boy was young, I traveled a lot for work, 2-4 weeks at a time. Those were some great photo opportunities!

Then each time I'd return home, Wife and I would tag-team. She'd take a break for a day or a few and I'd take Son out on adventures. Traveling, sightseeing, hiking, fishing, backpacking... just us two guys. (You should read some of the absentee excuse letters I wrote to his school teachers, lol) More great photo opportunities!

I took far more photos back then than I do now.

Also, be sure to accumulate necessary photo equipment when the kids are very young. Once they grow out of the Cheap Stage, forget it.

Two things:

• Keep your kids busy doing interesting, challenging, and educational things.
• Take pictures.

If the first item is your top priority, the second item will fall into place.



















Good luck, and happy parenting!

--
Personal non-commercial websites with no ads or tracking:
Local photography: http://ratonphotos.com/
Travel and photography: http://placesandpics.com/
Special-interest photos: http://ghosttowns.placesandpics.com/

BarelyAmateur said:

For those of you who are working (M-F 9-5) parents of young children: do you get any time to do hobby photography? If so, care to share how? Thanks!

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When my children were young my hobby photography was them. Otherwise, annual vacations provided some opportunities for other subject matter.



FWIW, those "young children" opportunity photos are now my most treasured. (Yea, my baby just turned 48!)

tbsteph

Thanks for all the replies. Yes, my boys are my greatest muses. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only person who has limited opportunity to shoot anything else.

My two girls are by far my most photographed subject. But yeah, my photography otherwise only happens in the margins. Vacations and trips help.

I figure that this phase is actually not all that long, though, all things considered. I'm fine with putting my hobby on a somewhat slower burn for a few years. There'll be times again where I'll have more time for myself, and I'll no doubt miss the crazyness of today.

Just always have your camera with you and be ready for whatever crosses your path. There still are plenty of photo opportunities in the fringes of a busy life.

BarelyAmateur said:

Thanks for all the replies. Yes, my boys are my greatest muses. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only person who has limited opportunity to shoot anything else.

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Some parents have many hobbies and activities that take them away from their kids. For me when I was not working and traveling for work photographing my kids was very special to me. Before my kids I did landscapes, now those old negatives have little value to me. The last twenty four years taking pictures of my kids mean more to me than any other picture I have taken in the 45+ years of doing photography.

I remember when my first daughter was around 13-14 months old, I was traveling a lot in the Fall doing training for our partners. I would be gone almost all week from early Sept through mid Dec. Home on weekends, except when in Europe and Asia. At the time I loved watching college football and would spend many Saturdays watching games. My first weekend back I early Saturday morning I sat down in front of the TV and started getting everything ready for the day of games. My little daughter walked up and handed me one of her kid songs VHS tapes. I first said no, I was going to watch football. My daughter looked a little sad. Then it occurred to me, while on the road all I was thinking about was coming home and being with my daughter. I forgot all about watching football, put the tape in the player and we watched her video, then went outside to play and spent the rest of the day together, including taking pictures. To this day I doubt I have watched more than a handful of games from start to finish. My kids always took top priority for their activities. I don't miss watching sports.

My photography for many years has been focused on my kids. Many people take a picture of Delicate Arch, but I am the only one that has pictures of my kids at the arch at many times watching them grow. Or have the backache from carrying my 4 year old daughter on my shoulders to the arch.

I have great images of dance concerts, school activities, sports, family events and great family vacations. For the first few years of schooling my kids went to a private school and I became the unofficial photographer for events and large school wide pictures (not individual pictures). Parents were thrilled to have access to the school photos. Sports I took many seasons of soccer, basketball, softball and early on would create CDs and then DVDs for every family on the team. My three old kids all have blackbelts in Tae Kwon Do, we had an amazing master (had been an Olympic coach for several countries) and his wife (she was a 2x World Champion and 7x Korean National Champion. I had the privilege of being the photographer for many years and taking great pictures at many tournaments. Posted all the pictures for the school and families.

Now, I only have one daughter at home, she just turned 14. We love getting out in nature and she loves posing at sights. Two weeks ago we were at Yellowstone. The month before than we were hiking slot canyons in S. Utah, to the Toadstools and other great places. The pictures that mean the most are the ones of my daughter.

I also recognize that as she is getting older and has here own outside the family interests these trips will be harder. I am now having a little time to try to learn wildlife photography. I am still very much in the learning phase but enjoying the activity. Still, none of these pictures will ever match in importance the pictures of my kids.

Sorry for the long narrative, but as you are starting out with a young family I hope you can embrace and enjoy the photography adventure that is in front of you. Get out an explore nature and places with your family and enjoy photography along the way.

When my family was young, I often had my trusty Leica rangefinder with me but only took only "important" images and virtually never shot simple snap shots as souvenirs.





My wife was also a serious photographer and I had to give give her my spare Leica


Rare grab shot with my wife shooting with her Leica. I was shooting the lady in sun glasses

--

Charles Darwin: "ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge."
tony

When I married, I had three different theories about the best way to reconcile my hobbies with parenthood.

Now I've got three kids... and no theory at all.

Put a camera in their hands and go have an adventure with them!






















I handed my Sony A33 off to a nice lady that was a complete stranger.



These photos are from 2013. My daughter is 17 now so she must have been around 8 in these pictures. I won't say they are the best shots I have ever taken but we both remember this day very well and love to look at these old pictures!

I did suspend my photography hobby for a period of time when my children were young.

But I wouldn't say it's because of my children because my wife had done a good job attending to them. I, for most part, showed my presence in the weekend soccer games and gymnastic meets.

It was the intent focus on my career building that kept me away from spending time on anything else other than climbing that corporate ladder.

I picked up photography again in my late 40's when I could relax a bit. By then I could afford the gears I could only envy when I was a teen.

LeicaEye said:

Kids in the push chair - walk walk walk.. As they got older, Judo, Soccer, Horse Riding offered more picture opportunities. Friends and family birthdays opportunities galore.. I would walk to the local car sales places and photograph cars, trucks vans galore.. Endless opportunities.. L

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My experience with my kids and grandchildren is that they are great model when then were young. But after 5, particularly boys, they don't want to be photographed as much.

Yes, you can still get great shots on the sideline with your telephoto lens to catch some great action.

MikeInOr said:

Put a camera in their hands and go have an adventure with them!
















I handed my Sony A33 off to a nice lady that was a complete stranger.



These photos are from 2013. My daughter is 17 now so she must have been around 8 in these pictures. I won't say they are the best shots I have ever taken but we both remember this day very well and love to look at these old pictures!

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I fully agree, all of my kids grew up with cameras and still enjoy taking pictures. My oldest daughter still uses my 20D, my son has my 40D and one daughter as my Samsung NX300, she wanted something smaller while she was living in France. My youngest is now learning on my 7D. I never pushed them to photography, but they always enjoyed photography.

--

Although our both children are adults now, when they were small my wife and myself had a deal (proposed by her):

• Workdays we had work and some limited interaction with the children, mainly at the end of the day
• Sundays were fully dedicated to family
• Saturdays we split. One was "hers" another one "mine". When it was "hers", she decided how to use the day, going to visit friends, manicure, hairdresser or just to spend some time alone. I was in charge for the children for the day. In "my" Saturdays usually I spent the morning shooting, took the lunch alone or with some friend and return home by the end of afternoon.

It worked very well to us.

Regards,

--
O.Cristo - An Amateur Photographer
Opinions of men are almost as various as their faces - so many men so many minds. B. Franklin

LeicaEye said:

Kids in the push chair - walk walk walk.. As they got older, Judo, Soccer, Horse Riding offered more picture opportunities. Friends and family birthdays opportunities galore.. I would walk to the local car sales places and photograph cars, trucks vans galore.. Endless opportunities.. L

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Shoot them playing sports or other activities. My son is in travel soccer and was in the Cub Scouts previously. Thanks to just one of those activities alone, I can spend a couple of hours twice a week shooting.

Photographs are ultimately for memories. Taking photos of your children doing things they will no longer do upon adulthood is one way of capturing those memories for reminiscing in old age.

All my hobbies have been greatly curtailed since our first kid. Really it depends so much on your children and the role you take in their lives. Our oldest son is a great little guy, but he is a ball of lightning and can wear anybody out. Any musical instrument he forces himself onto and tries to play it himself. Same with cameras. Same with *anything*. The upside is he has many skills beyond his years. The downside is obvious.

So really, if you are having difficulties, I can sympathize and you are probably already doing the best you can for your particular situation.

RB37 said:

Shoot them playing sports or other activities. My son is in travel soccer and was in the Cub Scouts previously. Thanks to just one of those activities alone, I can spend a couple of hours twice a week shooting.

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Thumbs-up.

Not every photo needs to be of the kids either. Getting the kids out into interesting places will also get you and your camera out into interesting places.

And when on a family trip, every photo doesn't need to feature your kid either. Maybe they're beside you. Maybe they're hiking off in a different direction. Maybe they're waiting in the car, or even back at the hotel with Wife enjoying the pool....







--
Personal non-commercial websites with no ads or tracking:
Local photography: http://ratonphotos.com/
Travel and photography: http://placesandpics.com/
Special-interest photos: http://ghosttowns.placesandpics.com/

I usually just took pictures of the kids!