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Don’t you just love digital cameras for kids? The delete option is so awesome — and you’re not wasting film like in the old days.
Digital photography is wondrous, eco-friendly, and kid-friendly. We’ve discovered the key to our travel success — especially if we take the kids for hikes — is digital cameras. (Also known as a really good distraction for walking long distances.)
Oh, and skip the kid cameras. We’ve tried three and all three were terrible. Yes, camera’s are expensive but I think it’s worth it to see the world from a child’s eyes. When they’re old enough (5 or 6 years old) loop the strap around their wrist, tighten and let them shoot their own photos..
Camera Basics for Beginners
- FINGERS: Watch your fingers when turning on and off (be sure fingers are out of the way of the lens). Also, hold the camera with fingers on the edges – not over the lens.
- PLAN: Pick what to shoot – 1 thing = 1 photo.
- MOVEMENT: Hold the camera still while you take the picture.
Camera Projects for Beginners
PHOTO ABC BOOK: Save your photos, you’re going to be making an alphabet book on this guest post by Esther Hershenhorn.
DAY IN THE LIFE: Use a stuffed animal to be the star of your photos. Take photos of your stuffed animal throughout the day doing different activities. Print out and make a book.
SEASONS IN NATURE: Take photographs that show signs of the season — spring, summer, fall, winter.
SCAVENGER HUNT: Make up a list of things for your child to find and photograph.
More resources:
National Wildlife Federation’s digital camera tips for kids.
Teaching Photography to a Five Year Old.
Teach Kids How to Take Good Pictures.
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Melissa Taylor is a mom and educator from Denver who is passionate about playful learning. Thanks for visiting the site!
9 Comments
My daughter started messing with my camera right around when she turned 3 – it’s an inexpensive point-and-shoot so I wasn’t too worried if she broke it. After finding lots of pictures of her hand in my files, I worked with her on keeping the lens clear of blocking. I haven’t done much else with teaching her anything about photography (she’s 4 now) but it seems I should add this to our homeschool curriculum sooner rather than later. She still gets out the camera all the time to take her own pictures.
Using photos that students have taken enhances our writing program at school. The kids take the pictures and add them to stories as illustrations, use them to create captions, or write a story based on the picture that someone took. I especially like the photos that are taken extremely close up and we have to guess what it is!
[...] Kids, Cameras, and Family Fun [...]
I totally agree with giving kids a ‘real’ camera. My daughter uses mine very carefully. I love seeing what she comes up with. We do get a lot of photos of her feet!!
Ali @ At home with Ali recently posted..Chicken World – an Easter craft
love it! thanks!!!
I love this idea!! I am a photo freak and I want my kids to have their own identity in photography and learn to see life through the lens.
I’m going to start doing this!!
Thanks a ton for the ideas.
Thank YOU!! I hope to help my son learn some photo skills this summer. I was looking for something like this!
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[...] week, I let each kid use a digital camera to photograph signs of spring and get them walking outside and noticing nature. (6 year old, JJ, used a point and [...]