Being creative and the need to be productive as a photographer…

This may be a little long winded, but it’s something I think all creatives struggle with whether it’s musicians, artists, dancers, and the like. There is a strong undercurrent of having this feeling that you need to be productive in a sense of producing works that could possibly define you or better yet, even help you pay for the interest you spend so much of your time working within and honing to perfection.

There is a need to keep it fun and fresh, which is where that fine line comes into focus. Creative and passion projects don’t really present any value to most people who look to a creative to produce content for promotion, branding, etc. For the last four years I chased that dragon trying to produce, trying to create for money. I finally came to the realization that is really wasn’t how I wanted my photography to go anymore. I am fortunate in that I don’t need to monetize my work in order to sustain my ability to have the gear needed to create great images or the time to do it.

How do my other creatives feel about this subject? Feel free to comment below and let me know how you deal with the struggle between feeling productive and keeping your passion for this community and skill fresh? How do you balance that scale if you do generate money with this skill? I would love to hear what people are doing to cope with the demand.