There’s a reason why everyone seems to have a camera these days. It’s true that people can sometimes go a little overboard, documenting every moment for social media, but the truth remains: photography is a truly fulfilling hobby. Even if you never earn a cent from your pictures, taking up photography as a hobby can bring a lot of joy to your life. Though there are countless reasons why photography is an awesome hobby, here are our top 11 to inspire you to pick up a camera today.

One of the most important reasons is that it makes you active, for example if you have ever gone for a walk and found yourself staring at your smartphone all the time, then you know how difficult it is to pay attention to the world around you. Doing an activity while you are on the move can help you be more present and aware of your surroundings. Give yourself a task while you are outdoors, like taking pictures of street art or birdlife. This way, doing your daily exercises won't seem like a chore.

Photography is an exercise in the mind as you do not have to be an expert to enjoy photography as a hobby. In fact, cameras are so easy to use these days that you probably won't need any training at all. But if you want to improve your abilities, there is always more to learn. You can try tilt photography, underwater photography, horizon photography, and more. Switch the camera from "automatic" to "manual" mode and enjoy seeing the number of new tricks you can discover.

It is also good that it is affordable, as some hobbies require a lot of equipment, but cameras are cheaper than ever. A few decades ago, being a photographer meant having to purchase your own movie stock and access a darkroom so you could develop your own photos. These days, you already have a camera on your smartphone. If you want to use more expensive equipment or don't want to take a DSLR with you when you travel, you can always rent equipment from one of the other photographers.

It’s easy to immortalize your life through photography, whether it’s creating a scrapbook of your travels or taking a picture of yourself every day for a year. Look back through your photos to be reminded of where you’ve been throughout the year, whom you spent time with, and even what meals you cooked! Send photos to your long-distance friends and family to keep them in the loop, or post the images on social media if you want to build a personal following.

Photography may seem like an individual hobby, but there are plenty of opportunities to meet people. From joining photography groups, and finding models to work with, you don't have to do it all alone. These days most photographers have Instagram accounts so if you're looking to collaborate with other people this is a good place to start. Just be respectful and know that many models expect to be paid for their time.

You can shoot anywhere you want, as taking a guitar on a plane with you is a hassle. Painting can make a mess. But the cameras are portable and do not require special talents or physical abilities. You can take pictures from the passenger seat in the car or from your own studio. You can even get yourself a drone and take great aerial photos without much effort.

You don't have to be a professional photographer to make money from your work. Even if you take photography as a hobby, you can earn a little extra income from photo platforms. Don't expect to make a lot of money unless you have a lot of photos, but you will get paid a small percentage every time someone licenses your work.

It is considered a safe hobby. You may not think of hobbies as being particularly dangerous, but even playing sports can cause your leg to break. Unless you're taking selfies with polar bears, you probably won't get hurt if you use photography as a hobby. There are no heavy objects, sharp edges, or flammable materials to worry about, except for maybe your studio lights. If you are concerned about equipment falling or being damaged, you can always get insurance.

Photography is ideal for people with many interests, as you can mix and match it with pretty much any other hobby out there. You can photograph trains, animals, antique cars, stars, people, food, architecture – the list is endless. If you’re interested in astronomy, learn to take photos of the moon. If you like to scuba dive, you can practice underwater photography.
Best of all, you can use the same camera for most of these hobbies. Just switch lenses and you can move from one type of photography to another. Photography is a great complement to other crafts as well, such as writing or music. You can use your photography to illustrate your memoir or design your own album cover. It’s a great stepping stone to videography, too.