Kids + Cameras (Part 1)
Sun, June 28, 2009 at 11:42PM You never know what will spark your kids' interest in photography and cameras. It could be photographs in a coffee table book, the mechanics of a camera, watching a photographer, learning about light and shadow. In your explorations you might consider buying your kid a camera.
Barbie photographs taken by my daughters... posing little scenes.
This is the first of a multi-part series on child photographers. We start with some thoughts to help decide whether to buy a camera for your child. In Kids + Cameras (Part 2) and Part 3, we focus on travel photography. In Part 4, the kids make simple movies with their cameras.
Thoughts on getting started with photography...
1. Curiosity. Get a few coffee table photographic books at the library. Keep them on a table or in a basket where the kids can explore them. Check out Curriculum of Curiosity from Camp Creek Blog. Proceed if the kids are engaged and interested.
2. Teach the basics. Not f-stops and composition but how to turn the camera on/off, how to focus, how to look at their photos on the camera screen, how to use the auto setting, how to hold the camera. The bare minimum just to get rolling. FYI, we keep the little strap around their wrist to reduce chance of the camera hitting the concrete. Show them the lens and explain that it is delicate and should not be touched.
3. Have a cameral trial. Let your child take photographs with a small digital camera for a few hours around the house & garden with you nearby and watching... and learning...
4. Watch. Do they handle the camera carefully or carelessly? Do they have the dexterity to hold the camera somewhat steady and push the button at the same time? Do they focus on something or just click and run? Can they look through the viewfinder, focusing with one eye?
5. Process not product. Think about when your child first started to paint or draw... a bunch of kooky lines and blobs. It's doing stuff that matters, not the outcome. A child's readiness is determined by respect for the camera and physical ability to take a photo. The quality of the photo is irrelevant. Repeat after me. Not relevant.
My older daughter is only now taking clear photos at age 9; my younger daughter has taken clear photos since she first used a camera at 6 1/2. The truth is that they love their photos, no matter how blurry, because the photographs help them remember something that interested them.
6. Get a real camera. If your budget allows, consider a basic point-and-shoot of good quality from a well known camera manufacturer. Skip the kiddie camera. The camera does not need to have cartoon characters or be pink. Our kids each have a Sony digital camera. We own three, and LOVE all of them: Sony Cybershot W70
7. Camera features. I really like kids to learn to shoot using a viewfinder rather than the big screen. More point-and-shoots are skipping the viewfinder to save space, which is frustrating. The viewfinder is the tiny window you look through with one eye to compose the photo. You'll want auto features, easy controls (buttons or spin dials rather than menu screens for basic stuff like flash on/off, macro), small enough for a jacket pocket, upload to computer via usb, decent sized memory card available (you have to buy these separately), and quality photographic capability. The point: if the kid holds the camera steady in decent light, composes decently, focuses, etc, the shot will theoretically not suck.
8. Practice. Take the camera along on your next outdoor outing - an arboretum, a farm, a nature trail, the park, the zoo. Let them take photos if they wish. No guilt please. The camera will not go to waste. It will be used in time.
9. Enjoy. Upload their photos to your computer and let them page through them full screen. This is not the time to critique. You will likely know the subject of each photo, so your comments can be relevant. Treat their photography as lovingly as you treat their artwork. Check out Eroding Kids' Creativity.
10. Print. Be sure to print a selection of their photos. They will likely take a lot, so you could suggest they pick 10-20 to print and treasure, make collages, build a scrapbook, hang in their room, send to grandparents...
11. Do creative photography projects.
"It's My Day" Board. Kids take a camera along all day, photographing the highlights of their day from their perspective. Anything goes, from peeking in the fridge to clouds. Print their top 10 photos and then they can create a collage or timeline of their day.
Alphabet Book. Kids photograph each letter of the alphabet as they find them in a trek through the city or supermarket. Older kids can photograph things starting with each letter; an APPLE, a BANANA, a CLOCK. Print the photos and make an alphabet book.
Doll Stories. Kids can pose their Barbie and other dolls and toys and photograph the scenes and write a story to go along with the photographs. They can learn about composition and framing as well as angle and perspective.
Memory Game. Take photos of family members, friends, toys, flowers, and print two of each photograph. Mount to cardboard to make cards for a memory matching game.
12. Reality check. If the idea of the kid breaking the camera stresses you out, you aren't ready even if they are. There is statistically >67% chance that it will be bumped, get sticky, lost or dropped.
13. When the camera is dropped. Remind the child how to hold the camera, stress that the camera is delicate, like a china plate, and we need to treat it carefully. If it happens more than once in a day, we hold on to the camera for a few hours!
14. When photos are blurry. Just remember early drawing efforts and watercolor blobs.
15. The art of photography. If your kids continue to show an interest, you can find books about photography and explore. Play with the camera settings, different light, composition, angle. Set up still life scenes. Take photos with a polaroid or film camera. Learn about color. Edit photos on your computer to saturate or desaturate the color. Crop. Do a photo treasure hunt (looking for specific things to photograph).
More camera stuff...
- Kids and Photography from HP
- Praising Kids' Art
- Photography for Kids from Betterphoto
- Cameras as Homeschool Tools from The Morningstar Academy
- How Stuff Works: Digital Cameras
Kids look at the world differently. Not only are they lower to the ground, and so have a different angle on things, but they are interested and curious about different things than we are. It's respect for the camera and physical ability to take a photo; the quality of the photo is irrelevant.
Reader Comments (2)
Excellent advice - and I don't even have kids!!
one thing i’ve done with kids as young as three — tie a ribbon to the normal wrist strap of the camera and use it to hang the camera around their neck. (obviously use caution any time your child is wearing something around their neck.) this keeps the camera from accidentally being dropped and takes away a lot of anxiety on the camera owner’s part. ;^)
(it also prevents them from setting the camera down in the park and walking away!)