Are you interested in pursuing photography as a possible career? If so, what has been holding you back?

Some days I'm really into it. Then some days I'm so tired of tech I want to go live in a cave.

I wrote for the photo industry for a time. I created advertising and instructional materials for Vivitar when it was the leader in electronic flash photography and its Series 1 lenses were superior to those produced and sold by the name brands. I had the opportunity of working with some of the best photographers who were engaged to provide visuals for my publications. The simple fact is that photography is one of those "skills" that people can imitate with or without talent. (Well, except for my brother. He could photograph a group of people and be lucky to get just a couple in frame) And like other talents, friends and family will lie about a person's talent to avoid conflict (ever notice how surprised some are on singing competitions when the judges tell them they can't sing?). So what's holding you back? The fact is that you won't know until you try. It takes courage to put your work out there and wait for the criticism to begin flowing. Maybe you have talent. Maybe you don't. You won't know until you take the chance. Always remember that famous (or infamous) piece of advice: Feint heart never won fair damsel. Well, that goes for all kinds of prizes. Just don't quit your day job until you've tested the market and your talent. Also, it doesn't take the most expensive equipment to give it a go. An expensive camera and computer can't make a professional photographer out of an untalented person (like my brother).

Today, I shoot what I want to shoot, not what I'm directed to shoot. The single biggest mistake the Air Force made was merging the still photographer AFSC with the journalist AFSC. Based on what I see coming out of the various outlets, the quality of AF photography is suffering big time. In my day, we treated PA as the enemy. PA always came up with stupid requests or jobs that portrayed the AF in the best possible light, instead of documentary imagery that told the true story. If I had a dime for every time I killed PA requests I'd be a rich man. Once we went digital back in 93, it was simple to meet PA requests because our imagery was online on our own server. They could download the images they needed.
I don't earn my living today with a camera, but whenever I'm approached for different photographic requests, I usually end up doing them. People today in the digital age think they're professionals because they can push a shutter release. I can totally relate to what I read earlier about using a 4x5 to shoot with. If up to me, I never would have gone digital, I too am a purist. But realistically, meeting peoples' requests can't be satisfied with a single 4x5 Chrome that the customer takes to a specialized print house to be printed. While assigned to Edwards AFB back in the late 80s, I shot most everything with a Hasselblad 500 CM on VPS III. Carrying my daily kit was cool with a 45mm, 85mm, 150mm, and 3 backs. Some of the images I produced were stunning. Ahh but I can't afford to sit pondering the past. Today I'm shooting on Olympus m4/3 with a bunch of lenses, a White Lightning 4 head 800 WS studio lighting system, simple stuff!.