I was a developer (programmer, architect, team lead, CTO, etc.) for about 20 years before I decided to give it up and pursue photography as a career. I was a st

I was a developer (programmer, architect, team lead, CTO, etc.) for about 20 years before I decided to give it up and pursue photography as a career. I was a studio photographer specializing in food. I did it for two years before coming back to development. Photography is a tough career choice. If you're doing commercial work expect to be told exactly what to do (food is brutal this way - highly controlled). Unless you're at the absolute top (think David LaChappell) people come to you with ideas, expecting you to execute, and are rarely interested in your ideas. You also need great post production skills, so lots of computer work, unless you want to outsource this which is costly. I've never done wedding photography but know a few and it's a tough business, highly competitive, very stressful (think freaked out brides and mothers) and very seasonal.