The timeout monster shoots to be annoying.

very simple for me.

cause my kids need to eat and I need to pay the mortgage and its a hoot to get paid to do this.

I shoot cause it is creative. I love shooting everything with the eye I have and hope people see what i see.

Money! and fun ...

It must be for love, because it's certainly not for the money.

Sometimes I get these half formed images in my head. They're indistinct, shadowy and blurry like a partially remembered dream. I have trouble drawing a straight line with a ruler, so photography is a godsend in getting the pictures out of my head and on to paper.

I also love the technical side and the hours in the darkroom printing or making negatives for alt-process printing. My job has me shackled to a computer, so the last thing I want to do for fun is spend even more hours in front of one. The hands-on apsect of the wet darkroom adds to that wonderful "I made that!" feeling.

I like models. Therefore I shoot.

And because it's a hell of a lot more creative and fun than programming. Plus I like making people smile.

I shoot what I shoot because I knew what I wanted to see, but no one was producing it.... so I figured I had better do it.

Turns out there's a market for the type of photos I create. 

It's much much easier than illustrating.

It is all about the moment in time. Photography validates a history to which you have been a part of. What ever path you have chosen. When it comes to women some photographers don't know how blessed they are to be grace by such beauty. What ever your age is, it took you that many years of your life to share that moment in time. And you have been privelaged to capture it. Not every woman or man for that matter on the planet is "beauitful" to the eye. In some case they can be incredibly gorgeous. It is for that reason I take pictures. It is the same reason that overcomes people who are not use to seeing for examples exotic cars. I'd go to say where I live if you have a brand new luxury car or suv. Everyone is like "wow" "ooh" "nice." Then I looked at my former employers car collection. Yes CAR COLLECTION. In 1999 he was at more than $45 million dollars in Ferrai's [alone] plus a couple of Rolls Royce's Aston Martin, Range Rovers Mercedes S500's and SLs BMW's 733 all v12 and of course my photographic gene said TAKE PICTURES TAKE PICTURES!!!! because this is something I will not see everyday let alone may never see again. Back then I had one of them Sony Mavica's that used a 3.5" floppy disk and I snapped away with the only disk I had. I still have it till today! That day I couldn't believe what I had seen let alone be "privlaged" to see such a private collection and let alone be able to take some pictures. AWESOME!

So be it Women or Men, Cars, Ocean Life, Nature/Wilderness, The Skies, Sporting events, Celeberties, it is all about "THAT MOMENT" and the reason I believe we all take pictures.

And that is apart for the contracted version of taking pictures of models. Just you and your camera. As a photographer You may carry it everyday and wonder what you may capture today....It's life and it is real. We are just holding on to moment to share with others.

Also, I use beauty as an example, But people in general all have expressions that express there journey in this life. Some people are pampered and it shows as with people who work hard and you can see that in there face. They too have a strong image that can move you. And pictures we take are to move us as people in one way or another.

G. DeAcosta

the idea of dreaming something and then recreate it in real life and make it last for a lifetime on a piece of paper appeals to me.

Why do I shoot?
Because I'm a hunter.

I'm a very visual person, so taking shots is about as exciting as watching a visually pretty film in my opinion, and infinitely more rewarding.

I love capturing a moment of time as well. There's something fascinating about devices that capture a moment of our lives that I'll never get bored with.

I have no clue sometimes I just need to shoot I cant understand it myself

I did it. Went away from it. Missed it. Came back to it. Never want to leave again...

"Artistic pursuits are for women and slow children, not intelligent boys with the potential to do something worthwhile."

An important man said that to me many years ago. Even for a 14 year old, the implication was clear: I must either choose to fulfill my potential as a productive member of society or waste my life pursuing art. Attempting both was a recipe for guaranteed failure, and choosing art would be something between irresponsible and immoral. That message was reinforced frequently and clearly by the society in which I was raised, and I learned the lesson well.

For many years I lived that lie. I believed that if I did not deny my inner artist the right to exist then I would fail at everything. I scuccessfully (and with no regrets) pursued a career based in math and science and, since I had been taught that artist and scientist may not and could not exist in the same person, I assumed that my desire for creative expression would someday evaporate. I stoically refused to feed my inner artist, but he would not die. I spent many years hiding that secret from the world, and my shame for it penetrated all aspects of my life.

Eventually I came to realize that the "facts" I had learned from the society I grew up in were not facts at all. Scientist and artist are not opposing forces. Pursuing artistic expression and being a productive member of society are not mutually exclusive. Having an artistic drive and a desire to create is not a moral defect. In many ways that was a torturous realization, but it was also liberating. With each revelation I shed a layer of shame and the world became a better place to be.

Today, I am both a successul scientist and a novice but aspiring artist, and I am proud of both. I still run into remnants of guilt and shame about my artistic side, sometimes in surprising parts of my life, and sometimes in surprisingly deep veins, but I now recognize them for what they are and I'm able to confront them effectively. Today I nurture my inner artist as a part of my whole person.

When I turned 35, I made a promise to myself that I would create at least one photograph every day for the rest of my life, regardless of whether anyone ever saw them, regardless of whether anyone else cared, I would do it as a gift to myself as reparation for 35 years of denying a part of myself the right exist.  So far, I've been true to myself.  Some day I hope to be good enough that I feel like I deserve that gift.

Bet you wish you'd asked before before I opened the wine, don't you?

I like people watching, and shadows and light, primary colours, textures, repeated objects, and sunsets... and I used to walk around thinking, "oooh..I wish I had a camera with me"

So I bought a camera, and I bring it most places.  If it's not with me, it's at least in the car.  My friends got bored making fun of my 'purse' a couple years ago.  Especially since most of them have one or more of my photos on thier wall.

Cheers,

Allen

My dad is a professional photographer, and I guess it's in my genes.

I would help him set up lights when shooting weddings and other portraits, and became interested. He didn't want me to be a photographer like him (didn't pay too well), but after I got my first camera, he was really into "helping" me. LOL

I shoot portraits and weddings for my photographic survival.

I shoot models for fun. There's something about seeing a model change from "every day" to "model" mode that's exciting. Capturing that on film/digital is even better.

When I first started out shooting models, I would always mention helping them get to the next level. Over 5 years later, that still stands. Seeing a model, especially a new one, go from being reserved and shy to being recognized and requested by many is a great feeling of accomplishment for me!

I appreciate everyone's input on this thread.  There are a lot of really great reasons to why some have chosen to pursue photography.  It is fascinating to learn what motivates you all to create your art. - Your input hopefully helps a few of us newbies to understand a little more about the purpose of your photography.

A suggestion for models and stylists: Ask every photographer you work with how and why they got into the business, it might help you make better images together!

voyeurism

I don't shoot photos.

Models pose for me in my livingroom and I draw them one-pixel-at-a-time in Photoshop.

Takes me about 235 years to make each of my images.

I want to try modeling because of the fact that I have no expressive outlet right now. I was always able to take out my feelings on the wrestling mat or the field. Now that sports is pretty much over for me, I have to pick a new route to express myself (my pain, my anger, my frustration, my happiness, my joy). I can't really express myself in the business world. So I have to express myself in comedy and modeling.

I have always found a like for all that is beautiful (whether it is nature or the human body)

shooting is like breathing. necessary.

I first picked up a camera forty years ago as a kid.  I still shoot because:

1.  I get excited when I see a good photo (no matter who made it).
2.  I like solving the puzzle of creating a balanced 2D composition.
3.  I enjoy framing something ordinary in an interesting way.
4.  I enjoy the quest for perfection in the craft.
5.  I enjoy the limitless range of possibilities available in artistic expression.
6.  I like fondling the equipment (I never sell an old camera).
7.  I like the feeling I get when I turn out a good (and probably big) print.
8.  I like it when someone else gets a thrill by one of my pictures.

Money is NOT a factor.  Been there, done that.  Photography is now my sacred hobby.  I will not shoot anything for money again.  It makes it seem like work and I prefer to shoot only the things I want to shoot.

Nor are people much of a factor.  I don't do much socializing with other photographers (or models, for that matter), although I've met some very nice people.

-Dave