See The World From Your Child’s Eyes with Digital Photography
One of the best ways to see the world from your children’s eyes is to hand over the digital camera, or better yet, get them one of their own. Gone are the days when you have to guard the film camera with your life or else risk paying for developing 24 blurry pictures of the dog’s nose. The magic of digital photography for children is multilayered, and for us as parents can help unlock doors to conversations, dreams, and perspectives we might miss out on otherwise. Photography is an art form that allows even kids who struggle with their confidence in traditional art mediums such as drawing and painting to find an outlet for their creativity.
The other day my 8 year old son was wandering around our home and yard, digital camera in hand, barely appearing to aim, and clicking away at what looked to be random subjects. When I sat down with him at the computer and loaded his pictures onto the screen, a magical thing happened. No – there was not photography genius before me. There was, however, an insight into my son I had yet to find. As I scrolled through his pictures, he detailed his stories for me. What appeared to an untrained eye to be obscure flowers and our minivan in need of a wash were to him the flowers he thinks I would like the smell of best and the vehicle where he gets to go for day trips on magical adventures. Forever the teacher, I was thrilled with the new lessons my son had just taught me.
Digital Photography Lessons for Kids (and Parents)
- Get your kids a digital camera or let them use yours. At $12/roll for developing conventional film, the price of a decent digital camera is minimal.
- Let the kids take as many pictures as they can! The only thing you have to worry about is battery power and memory card space, both of which usually last longer than your shutterbug will.
- Print some of your child’s pictures and hang them with pride. They will love to show off their masterpieces and it might spark a new hobby for them.
- Encourage your child to tell stories with the pictures they take – either real or imagined.
- Help your child make a photo album or create a book using the pictures she takes. As time moves on, these will be wonderful memories of a childhood perspective.
- Just like your pediatrician might have told you to get down at your child’s level and see the room from her toddling point-of-view, look at the pictures with your child and get a new appreciation for how she sees her environment.
- Take your child to meet local photographers and to visit photography showings. Kids are very observant creatures and can pick up techniques and perspectives in a heartbeat.
- Seek out advice from photographers through community education programs or even the library. There are some great resources online as well for kids and photography.
- Older kids can have a blast using digital photography software to create amazing special effects. The best part is that they don’t have to have an expensive camera or advanced photography skills to take a picture and manipulate it into a new creations.
I am always on the hunt for new ways to connect with my children, and even after more than 15 years of parenting I am still thankfully surprised by what they have to teach me. As my son and I looked through the pictures he had taken, we came to those where he had been taking pictures of himself by turning the camera around and hoping that he was aiming well enough to capture his own image. Some included just an ear or 2 grass-stained knees. Then we came to one of his face and he squealed with delight. “Look, Mom! My eyes are mirrors that show what I am doing, even if I don’t even know it!” I paused, confused, until he pointed out the details in the image. There were his own hands and camera, captured in the reflection of his eyes. His pure joy at capturing himself twice in one picture was unmatched that day. The lessons he taught me about seeing the world through the eyes of my child (with a little help from a digital camera), are also unmatched. Until the next surprise I am sure I will soon find with a little help from the kids.
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