Hi friends
I started photography as a 18 years old boy when I entered the Med school and obvious it was all about film and nothing digital. I used to shoot selectively , print selectively and keep selectively .I bought my first digital camera in 1998 and it was a sony P&S . Till 2005 I was quite casual with photography though I had started using DSLR .FAst forward year 2005 - my daughter entered our lives and things changed considerably ..I started shooting more and more pics, more lenses were bought and sold , more camera bodies and result is I have around 40-50K shots of my daughter alone leave aside other pics , and she is only 6 year old. For me fatherhood played a major role to learn and try different cameras, lenses and diff exposures , lights .It encouraged me to learn and experiment and it became a serious hobby . I became more confident and shooting became more exciting and fun after her birth .
So I am wondering how many casual photographers turned into serious ones when they became dads?Or how fatherhood affected ur photography?

PS- this doesn't apply on pro photographers who earn their bread and butter through photography

Made me buy a lot of expensive gear.....
(Also, let's not forget the moms here)

Easy answer here, it went from nil to an obsessive hobby overnight. :)

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Zach Pierce
Photos
OMD, GH2, G1

mums included now ..lol

My daughter's the sole reason I got into photography. And im so glad I did. I love learning and becoming better....

ditto! with no regrets and less money than I had.

Other way for me... settled down, had kids, stuck more to design/web development instead of traveling with a camera. Dumped the gear for m4/3 and never looked back. I find it easier to get good shots of my kids at home and at their sport/school events without pro gear coming out of the bag. My little Oly has never let me down, save the possible exception of the shutter release being slower. But when that could be an issue, I put the Oly's drive on continuous and shoot away. I've always gotten something from the burst.

My "commerical" work these days is limited to photos for my company's web site and literature, the Oly gives me perfect quality for that, and it seems like I post-process less now.

So, I went more amateur, and have loved every frame of it.

...but would like a more "pro" PEN body someday.

This was a literal grab shot from this morning... I keep the camera laying around my desk to grab whenever. These mean more to me (and the extended family) than most anything else I've shot.

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Nikon D600, 24-85VR, 70-300VR, P7700, SB-700.

Parenthood led me to M43, before I became a Dad I didn't care for M43 or mirrorless cameras at all. I thought why not just get a real camera? But after having to haul a stroller, baby bag, my wife's purse and holding the baby all at the same time...I needed a smaller camera! I still have my DSLRs for work, but for light travel my Pens are now my prime setup!

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Jonathan
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www.jonathanfriolo.com

I'll let you know in a month.

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Olympus E-M5, 45/1.8
Lumix 14/2.5, 20/1.7, 25/1.4, 45/2.8, 14-42mm X, 14-45mm, 45-175mm X
Minolta MD 50/1.4, 85/2, 135/2.8

Stock up on coffee!