Monday, October 3, 2011

Introducing Your Kids To Photography by Courtney of Click It Up A Notch

Most of you know Courtney from Click It Up A Notch, if you don't I recommend you read this and rush over to her blog to glean some wonderful photography tips and inspiration.  Courtney and I became friends through this little "blogging world" and I am so thankful for her.  She consistently encourages me not just through her posts, but through frequent comments, chats, and emails.  I hope today she will encourage you to let your little ones take hold of the camera.


Oh, by the way, we are hosting a little linky party together known as The Quarterly Top 5, along with Sarah of Naptime Momtog.  Take a moment and check it out....you can link up with us through Wednesday and possibly win some great prizes.

First off, thank you Amber for allowing me to share this post with you guys!

A few months back I shared an article from Clickin’ Moms e-magazine, Click.  The article talked about getting your kids involved in photography.  Since photography is a HUGE part of my kiddos lives I knew they would be so excited for this activity.  Here is my experience in trying out this idea.

A few weeks back we experienced a typhoon and lost power for about a day.  I knew this was the perfect time to try this out.  Luckily, I had anticipated the power outage and had borrowed my neighbor’s point and shoot.

How it works:

-  Make it a scavenger hunt. Choose a topic or subject you want your child to focus on finding objects to photograph.  We decided to pick colors.  She is only 4 years old so I knew this was something she could do without getting frustrated.  I would say a color and she would search around for an object.

-  Find some great light to photograph the object in.  We decided to shoot the objects in the same location (I’m a little type-A).  My younger daughter’s changing table was in great light. 

-  Take advantage of the teachable movements.  Since my daughter is only 4, I knew what I would be able to teach her was minimal.  Some points I talked about:
                1.     Finding good light
                2.     Composition - talked about not putting subject in the dead center
                3.     Proper way to hold a camera - keeping elbows close to the body to avoid a blurry picture


There are so many different things you could choose as your topic.

-  The ABC’s - find objects that start with each letter of the alphabet
-  Their name - find objects that start with each letter of their name
-  Numbers - find objects in groups of numbers 1-10
-  Colors
-  Shapes
-  I spy - throw a bunch of toys in a pile.  Photograph the whole group.  Then pick out 10-15 objects to photograph by themselves that were in the pile and create your own “I Spy” book.

After we took all the photos, I uploaded them and Kate enjoyed getting to see her pictures on mommy’s computer.  I decided to publish her photos in a Blurb book.  We live in Japan, so I decided to add the Japanese version of each color.  I’m hoping she’ll never forget that she knew some Japanese as a child.

Since her book had less than 20 pages (Blurb’s minimum), I decided to add some statements in the back for her to fill in when the book arrives.  I left pages for her to draw pictures of her favorite things as well as write her name.  I’m so excited to have something like this to enjoy with her as well as keep for years to come. 




You can preview the book Courtney made for Kate below.  Thanks for sharing Courtney.  If any of you complete this activity with your children, be sure to leave a leave in the comments below.  I would love to see it.

6 comments:

Ashley Sisk said...

That is such a great idea - I need to start doing this with my niece. The last time she visited us, it was a whirlwind, but I want to start doing more of this sorta thing. Great idea.

Anonymous said...

Love this - absolutely love this. My daughter is snapping photos constantly and this would give her focus (no pun intended). I see math and science and nature books in our future....

Thank you, Amber, for featuring my button on your blog. I am honored beyond words. And I love words! ;)

xoxo michele

Misty said...

What a genius idea! Can't wait till my daughter is old enough to do this!

Anonymous said...

Need to try these out with my nephew.. Great tips :)

Courtney said...

Great ideas!!! I'm gonna have to give this a go!

Anonymous said...

Great ideas Courtney. Thanks so much for sharing. Can't wait to do this with Dustyn.