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Originally Posted by gmw
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As someone who has been taking pictures for about a decade, I can only say this:
If you create art, you create it for the love of it. You don't create it to make money. If you happen to end up being one of the very few that creates some sort of art that becomes a hit... well done then. You should never create it with the expectation of becoming rich.
In photography, there are many people who try to shoot that ONE picture that will get them into National Geographic, or on the national news, and make them famous at the same time. Because, from that time onward, every picture they will ever take will be seen as brilliant.
Those same people are normally working regular jobs, or, if they are fortunate enough to be a business person in addition to being a photographer, they take pictures on demand: weddings, product photography, and so on.
They are selling their time as labor, taking the pictures their comissioner wants, in the hope that someday, they'll hit jackpot with the pictures THEY want to take.
So yes, in my honest opinion, creating art often takes only time and effort. If you are very good *and* very lucky, you may someday earn some money as compensation, but you shouldn't expect it.
As I said: if you sell your time as labour, you're doing what other people want you to do, and they pay you for it. If you use the time to create art, you *hope* that you are creating something others *might* want, someday. If you're going to take a risk, then you'd better start a company, doing stuff you know people will pay for. Your chances of success are much bigger.
Of course, you are correct that copyright (also) protects art that does not sell... and therefore you can hope to sell it in the future, some day.