introducing photography to a preschooler

IMG_3029 This Christmas my older son was excited to get a digital camera. 
We chose the vtech Kidizoom Digital Camera.  The advantages of this camera for us are that it is
  • easy to hold steady (B has used our family camera before, a small digital point-and-shoot and has a hard time holding it still when pushing the button)
  • designed to take some knocks and bumps and rough treatment
  • connects to a PC or the TV
The disadvantage is a poor photo resolution compared to even cheap “adult” digital cameras.  Since B’s primary interest at this time is to be able to take his own photos anywhere, I consider this a fair trade-off.  If he is later interested in photo editing and better able to care for a small camera we will consider upgrading.
As he begins to explore his camera and take photographs I will be helping him learn some photography basics (introducing them slowly as the topic comes up). 
Functions and Parts of the Camera
This involves finding, explaining the function of and using the following basic camera parts …
the power button
the shutter button
the viewfinder
the lens (including an experiment with putting your finger over the lens or part of the lens)
the flash and flash button
how to replay photos he has taken
the A/V and USB ports (for viewing and downloading photos)
Basic Photography Skills
Hold the camera still, these tips on how to do this from Digital Photography School will probably help me as well as B.
Get the subject in the viewfinder
Once he has the hang of these basics, I’ll try to encourage him to do some photography projects to get him experimenting and learning new skills.  And I will post my project ideas soon.
Here are links to 2 great articles that I used when writing this post which have plenty of other tips on helping your children with photography (many of which are suitable for older children) …
teaching photography to children from Photojojo
13 lessons to teach your child about digital photography from Digital Photography School

Comments

Debi said…
Glad your little one likes the camera! I'll be looking forward to your photo tips -- my son still has trouble keeping the camera still, but he's learning!
Melissa said…
We got this same camera for our son too! So far he likes using it but the pics have been a little blurry. It's partially due to how quickly he pulls the camera down from his face after he snaps but he'll figure it out.

Such a fun gift for the kiddos!
PlanningQueen said…
My 8 year old received a digital camera from family for his birthday in April. I have enrolled him a 1.5 hr course this holidays so he can learn to use it more effectively. Kid do love to take photos!
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