Teaching Children the Joy of Photography

Mar 29, 2019 | Blog

“It is important to remember that we all have magic inside us” – J.K. Rowling

As a young teenager, I have loved taking photos with the back in days “latest” compact film camera. It was always so exciting clicking and finishing off the 24 exposure so I could post off the roll for development. Yes there were times where only a handful of photos were actually in focus but the joy of receiving that packet containing just a few of your masterpieces (which my mum still has framed) was priceless. That’s why I love teaching photography to my children. 

Cameras have come a long way, with smartphones being the easiest and most common way of photographing (I have no shame in admitting it), but I still love strapping my SLR camera over my neck and looking through the viewfinder to capture photos. It makes me even more happy when I see my children wanting to take photos with me.

How do you introduce children to the world of photography?

Well start by choosing a child friendly camera

My son needed something durable so I chose the Nikon Coolpix W100. This camera is sturdy, robust, fun, easy to use for this age range and the quality of images are excellent.

My daughter on the other hand needed a camera easy enough to start with but also something she could grow with. I chose the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT30, which is easy to use, great features (including using it in manual mode), waterproof and lightweight.

Photography Activities for children to start with:

1. COLOUR:

Ask children to take photos of objects such as flowers, pencils, legos, cars, marbles that are a certain colour or perhaps an object that comes in different colours. 

Photo credit to my daughter – Panasonic Lumix

Photo credit to my son – Nikon Coolpix W100

2. FAVOURITE FOOD:

Get the children to decorate/style their favourite food on a plate and add other objects to make it interesting. My son loves milk and cookies so we added stripy straw, cane candy and berries to give it a Christmas festive look!

Photo credit – My son Nikon Coolpix W100

3. FRAMING:

You can either ask the children to imagine or use a frame to take a picture. They start thinking about composing their images and how to frame something.

Photo credit – My daughter Panasonic Lumix

4. CLOSE UP:

Get children to go right near the subject and take a close up photo. If their camera has a close-up/Macro mode then use that to take a photo. Try taking photos from different angles, straight on or from above.

Photo credit – My son Nikon Coolpix

Photo Credit – My daughter Panasonic Lumix

5. ALPHABET GAME:

Ask children to find letters around them. This is a great one for children to really look at their surroundings and finding shapes/letters in the strangest places! They can either try to find all the letters in their name or even go as far doing the whole alphabets.

Photo credit – Various children and cameras from my after school Club

Photography is a great way for children to express their creativity. After each activity I always encourage children to look through their photos and choose the ones they love. You will be surprised at the results as children see the world so differently to adults.

Keep encouraging them, the more they practise the better they will get!

If you want to be the first to hear about my teaching photography workshops to children then comment below or contact me and I will add you to my special VIP list.

 by Follow these top 10 tips to take better photos on your mobile phone.

 

  1.  CLEAN YOUR LENS

I know this may sound obvious, but you will be amazed by the amount of dirt and smudges you find on your lens build up from your pockets, handbags and kids.  So, get into the habit of cleaning your phone with a tissue or soft part of your clothes (do not wipe on your jeans or fingers!!).

  1. GET ON THE GRID

The best way of achieving straighter images (especially for landscape) is by enabling the grid feature on your phone. This should be in your camera settings and nine equal boxes will appear when you switch your camera on. Use the 3×3 grid to align your images and hey presto no more leaning tower of Pisa!

  1. RELY ON NATURAL LIGHT

Understanding light is one of the most important factors in any photos. It can transform the mood and atmosphere of the photo. Try to use natural light on your subject and avoid using built-in flash as they are usually unflattering or can be too harsh.

  1. DITCH THE ZOOM

By zooming in too much the quality of your image decreases, and it appears more pixelated. To get better and sharper images try to get closer to your subject or use minimal zoom.

  1. GO PORTRAIT!

Ever wondered how professional portraits stand out? (Well, the “not so very hidden” secret is that we create a shallow depth of field by setting our aperture wide). You can achieve this look by using the portrait mode on your phone. The camera phone blurs the background and puts the focus on the subject. Best used for individual, couple’s portraits and even makes food look good but practice by varying the distance.

  1. SHOW ME THE LIGHT

Light is key when taking good photos so understanding where your light is and how to position yourself/subject is important. Put your camera phone on selfie and do a full spin to see where the light is hitting you most flattering. You may also want to try backlight so when the light source is behind you, it creates a halo effect.

  1. HONE IN ON YOUR FOCUS

Phone cameras are normally set to automatic focus but sometimes the subject is not so obvious, or you may want to change the focus point. To adjust where you want your phone camera to focus, simply tap on the subject and a square icon will appear. This will shift your focus and sharpen your subject.

  1. VARY YOUR SHOTS

Rather than taking the same type of shot over and over again, try changing the perspective (go higher up or lower down). Another tip when photographing building or landmarks is to use the panoramic mode vertically (going up or down). This lets you take a series of photos and stitch them together into one wide or tall image.

  1. READY, STEADY, GO!

Nobody likes blurry images, well unless you are creating a purpose blur! To minimise camera shake use both hands or lean on a surface, wall or even a friend’s shoulder to create stability. For low light conditions, time lapse and long exposure, purchasing a small tripod can be more helpful.

  1. LOOK THROUGH AND EDIT YOUR IMAGES

Taking a good photo on your mobile phone is just the first step and with a few tweaks you can turn your good photos into great photos! Most mobile phones now come with editing features such as exposure, contrast, white balance, crop, sharpness, and magic wand. If you want to further edit your images, there are editing apps such as Snapseed, Adobe Photoshop Express and Instagram offer further features as well as one tap filters. Try converting your image to black and white to create a certain mood!

I hope by following these top tips you will see a difference and start taking better photos on your mobile phone. Practising and experimenting is the best way to learn, so have a play on your phone and see what works for you but most importantly have fun!!

If you want to further develop and compose photos creatively then why not sign up to my adult mobile phone workshop. I will be running them at my home studio in North London, N20 from January 2024. Contact me for further details.

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