Fun with Photography

I still remember finally getting my first camera, a Kodak disk when I was 9 years old. I took it on a Girl Scout hiking trip and debated over each shot—trying to make the most of the 30 exposures allowed by my supply of two film disks. 

The pictures were mediocre at best, but the joy of having my own camera was unparalleled. The digital age has opened up a whole new world to photography.

Advice to the budding photographer has always been that you get better at taking pictures by taking lots of pictures. With a digital camera, the ability to take lots of pictures is much more available to your hobby photographer and to our kids.

Are you still a little weary of handing off the camera to your young children? Read on.  Many of us have upgraded our camera a time or two by now and may have an old digital camera around the house - this can make a great starting point for kids.

Even if you buy one of the "child safe" toy digital cameras, start at the beginning by teaching your child some basic guidelines of camera care. A simple sleeve or camera bag is also a good idea—begin by teaching care of the camera.

Kids seem to be natural shutterbugs - when the initial novelty of snapping pictures wears off, offer ideas to explore point of view, shape, color or texture.

For point of view, consider looking at the same object or room from above, from below, up close, far away, etc.  Or choose a shape and take a walk photographing all the circular objects you see. 

Try the same with color—take a color walk and see how many shades of green or red or purple you can find.  With spring just around the corner, a nature walk could also focus on finding signs of spring like buds on trees and new crocus peeking out of the ground. 

Look for different textures and patterns and make a game with the photos, get close enough so it is hard to tell where the design comes from and then challenge the viewer to guess.  Reflections and shadows are another great theme.  A camera is really a tool for learning to look closely and to look at things in new ways.

Take the time to download pictures and look at them with your child. Not every picture is a keeper and as they progress, it is helpful to teach editing skills too. Choose the best ones to print, make a slideshow or arrange in a scrapbook.

Look more closely at pictures in books and magazines too, building visual literacy by talking about choices the photographer made, the kind of lighting, the point of view, what is included in the picture, what might be left out of the frame.  What is the photographer trying to say about the subject with these choices?

On your next outing, let your child be the photojournalist and capture the event with pictures.  Choose which images best capture an event or outing and create a collection complete with captions to tell about the day.