Working 40+ hours per week can leave very little time for anything else, including your hobbies. And often, you might find that you’re so exhausted during that downtime that you don’t want to pick up your camera and go out—especially if you don’t like your job.
However, allocating time to photography is crucial if it’s your genuine passion. It can help you improve your mental well-being, and you’ll ensure that you continue leveling up your skills. On top of that, you can work toward becoming a professional photographer if that’s your dream.
If you have a day job but don’t want to restrict your photography solely to weekends, we’re here to help. Here are some tips for creating more time in your schedule for photography.
1. Wake Up Earlier
Waking up earlier is an instant way to create more time in your schedule. My last day job was in 2019, and I would wake up at 05:00 every morning to go to the gym and work on creative projects before heading into the office. You don’t have to go to that extreme, but getting up 30-60 minutes earlier can leave some space for capturing images before going to work.
You can streamline the process by charging your camera the night before and packing your bags as well. Another good idea is to make your breakfast beforehand; we’ve got a guide highlightingmeal prep websites that’ll help you cook your meals in advance.
If you’re going to wake up earlier, you shouldn’t be sacrificing sleep. Aiming for eight hours is a good idea. There areapps for tracking and improving sleepthat are worth checking out.
2. Take Photos on Your Lunch Break
Many employers will give you an hour for your lunch break, but a lot of people waste that time by eating at their desks or continuing to work (when their eyes and brains could probably do with a break). If you’ve found that you do either of those, packing your camera and doing photography on your lunch break might be a good idea.
Taking photos on your lunch break is beneficial if you have a busy personal life, as you won’t need to wake up earlier. You’ll also have the benefit of getting fresh air and increasing your daily step count, so you’re stacking other good habits on top of each other.
Planning where you’ll walk and take photos in advance is a good idea for ensuring that you manage your time effectively. Writing down locations in your phone’s notes app is more than good enough for this.
3. Make Time During Your Commute
Even if you think you’ve seen the same place 1,000 times, you’ll always discover something new if you have an open mind and are willing to explore.
Getting off a few stops early will allow you to capture more photos than would otherwise have been the case. And considering how cramped public transport can get in the morning, you’ll benefit from the fresh air and not having to jostle for space with others.
On the way back, you can also take photos before you head home. But if you’d like to try something else,consider improving your commute back from work with these apps.
4. Ask Your Company if You Can Take Photos for Them
Sure, your job role might be completely unrelated to photography. However, unique images can help a business to really stand out—and the chances are that they’d probably hire someone else to take those photos as a contractor.
It might be worth asking your company to see if they need headshots, office photos, and other assets captured. If you decide to quit and become a freelance photographer later, you could even potentially make them one of your first clients.
Learninghow to transition from a 9-5 job to freelancingis a good idea if you’re thinking about becoming self-employed.
5. Use Your Evenings for Photography
If you’ve got energy after your job, or you want something to look forward to, you can also consider allocating your evenings to photography. How you structure this is up to you—you can explore your city for an hour or two before taking the train home, allowing you to skip the rush hour crowds and traffic.
Another option is to wander around your neighborhood for a bit after you’ve taken the train home. You might need to adjust what you do depending on the time of the year, especially if you live at a northerly latitude and don’t have much daylight in the winter.
6. Ask for a Hybrid Working Agreement
Many workers realized during the COVID-19 pandemic that they could perform their jobs from anywhere, as long as they had a computer and reliable Wi-Fi. And while many companies have asked employees to go back to the office, that isn’t universally the case. If you want to dedicate more time to photography, asking for a hybrid agreement is worth a shot.
When asking for a hybrid agreement, you’ll need to show that you can perform your tasks reliably when out of the office. Moreover, you should be on good terms with your manager and other team members. Knowing thecommunication skills required to succeed at remote workwill come in handy.
If your boss says that you’re able to’t have a hybrid agreement, you might want to think about looking for a partially-remote or fully-remote job. We’ve got sometips to help you land a high-paying remote job.
7. Allocate Some of Your Annual Leave for Photography
If you’re a full-time salaried employee, you should have some annual leave each year. This will vary depending on the company and where you live, but it is an excellent opportunity to dedicate more time to your photography.
My photography style largely revolves around the Nordic region. And before I moved there, I’d allocate my annual leave to trips that’d allow me to capture those types of images. As far as I was concerned, that was much more interesting than lounging about on a beach for two weeks.
Even if you don’t travel, you may use that time off to dedicate to photography (and other healthy practices, such as meditation).
Having a Job Doesn’t Mean You Have to Ditch Your Photography
Whether you love photography as a hobby or want to become a professional one day, having a job shouldn’t mean ditching the craft altogether. It might be harder to find time outside of weekends, but getting creative will allow you to free up space where you might otherwise have missed it.
Consider trying these tips and see how they work for you.
