Photography is a great
hobby for kids and it can turn into a lifelong passion. It is one of
those rare hobbies that anyone at any age can undertake. Kids love
to feel like adults and having a camera of his or her own is one of
those early responsibilities that can create good future habits.
Kids can use photography in a variety of ways: strictly for fun,
to maintain memories of events in their lives, or as an art form.
Encourage your child to explore the world through the lens of the
camera.
Like most hobbies, taking
up
photography can actually benefit children in many ways.
It teaches them to be sensitive to their surroundings
It encourages creativity
It teaches responsibility
It teaches them to be observant
It leads to lifelong interests
It builds confidences
It helps develop attentiveness to details
The digital camera has
made photography much more user-friendly. It allows kids to
experiment with all types of pictures without having to spend money
for processing the film. Since you can see the results immediately
your child is apt to take more pictures and it will keep their
interest longer. You are able to delete bad pictures and keep the
good ones. Digital cameras are great for emailing pictures to
friends and family as well as putting up some shots on a website or
face book. If you decide to purchase a camera be sure it is
small and easy to carry.
Things to consider if you plan to purchase a camera:
It is important that
the camera have expandable memory. If it does not have
expandable memory it will limit the number of pictures that you
can take.
Make sure the camera
has a flash. It is necessary to take good indoor pictures.
Look for a USB
connection instead of a serial connection. This will increase
the speed when downloading pictures to your computer.
Be sure to check the
amount of megapixels. The more pixels the better the clarity of
the picture. If the kids digital camera has less than one
megapixel expect to see some blurriness in the images.
Check to see if the camera has
a zoom lens.
When selecting a digital
camera for a child consider a beginner digital camera instead of a
kid's digital camera. They can look pretty cool so kids will like
them, and the quality of the picture will be better. The price
range is approximately $30 to $100. Disposable cameras are also a
great way to introduce your kids to photography. They are available
in most stores and are reasonably priced.
Start by teaching your
child the correct way to hold the camera. This is not just
important
to enable your child to take good pictures, but also for the safety
of the camera. Explain the important features of the camera such as
how to turn it on, how to take the picture and how to use the zoom
lens.Make photography sessions
fun and plan regular
outings where your child can have the
opportunity to shoot new subjects. You can have parent/child
photographysessions
where you select a theme, each take pictures and then later compare
your results.
It is important to showcase your kids photography and
let them know that you are proud of their efforts.. You can have
them add their photos to an album, create a
scrapbook
or put them in
inexpensive self-decorated frames.
