Photography Tips For Kids Kids Activities Blog

2K Shares

I say it’s never too early to teach kids about photography. My daughter was interested into cameras since she was 2 years old. Now as she is turning 6 I feel like she is ready for some more serious Photography Tips For Kids. She actually has some of her photography tips for kids on the video posted below.

Here are 11 Photography Tips that will help you teach your child to love taking pictures and maybe even be good at it.

I believe it’s a great hobby for children to have. 1. Inspire them. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a good photographer to do that. Simple trick to that is visiting local photography show or going to the library and checking out some photo books. You can also find some great photo galleries online. 2. Teach them to see. Our lives are busy and sometimes it’s hard for kids to notice those beautiful clouds in the sky or a funny shaped rock on the ground. So before you give your child a camera, make a habit of just pointing out stuff to your kids. My husband is good at it. During walks or hikes he is always showing things to kids: a bug crossing the road, a flower hiding in the bushes or weirdly shaped tree. Those walks take FOREVER, but they are for exploring and noticing beautiful nature around us, aren’t they.

3. Get the camera. The camera you will get will depend on the child’s age, interest and of course the size of your wallet. Sofia is 5, we started with an old iPhone (that I am not using anymore). However her interest has risen and we feel like we are ready for an upgrade. So far, I like this camera the best. {affiliate link} 4. Teach them to hold the camera steady. It’s not an easy task for a grown up, so it is definitely a challenge for a little kid. Advice them to lean against something when they are taking pictures. A tree, a wall, a chair or maybe someone’s shoulder. If there is nothing to lean against, best thing they should do is spread their feet as wide as their shoulders are to make sure they are standing still. photography for kids

5. Let them take as many pictures as they want. It’s all digital now. So what if they take 345 pictures of a pink ribbon. But remind the kids to keep watching pictures on camera or phone screen as they photograph to see mistakes they are doing and find ways how to improve next picture. 6. Remind your child that he can take pictures from different angles. The same object could be photographed while sitting down, laying on the floor, standing on the chair and so on. Also, show them how to zoom in, but make sure to explain that only some pictures are great when they are zoomed in. (we learned this the hard way, after my daughter photographed everything zoomed). 7. Play a photography game. This one is our favorite. Let your child go around the room and photograph objects zoomed in. Then show the rest of the family if they know what they took. It’s a great zooming practice as well as fun game.

8. Talk about the background of the picture also being very important. If there is something that doesn’t match the picture or the subject/object they are photographing, it should be removed. And again, we learned the hard way. A baby brother with ‘corn’ ears sticking out of his head picture is hilarious for our crazy family, but grandma was not so happy about it. photography for kids

9. Try to stay away from telling your child what to photograph. They should find their focus of interest themselves. If they do need a little ‘push’ you can start them off by asking to take picture that would have yellow, green and blue colors in them or “something round”. Nothing too specific. 10. Keep the criticism as positive as possible. Pointing out some obvious photography mistakes (e.g. half of the finger on the lens) is OK, but try to find the good things about each photograph too. Avoid ‘good picture’ comments. Instead, find a detail you liked and mention it: ‘I like the angle you chose to take this picture….’ 11. Let them edit the photos. My daughter loves this part. We use easy programs such as Picmonkey or Canva.

Watch Sofia’s photography Tips for Kids

As a blogger I take a good amount of pictures (ok, more like 500) a day. Kids see me having camera all the time so it’s natural that they get interested in it and want to do the same thing. My daughter has been following me for quite a while now and she contributed a lot to this post with her own tips. So before you give your little one a camera, let them watch the video about photography tips. From a kid.