June 2010

My son has always been very interested in taking pictures. He started to drive us a little nuts with his requests that we take pictures of every ant, bird and rock that he found interesting. So, we figured if he had his own camera he could photograph his little heart out.

I did a little research (Hooray for consumer reviews on the Internet!) and found that many of the cameras designed for children look cute but don't take great pictures and are not very sturdy. The one camera that consistently got good reviews was the Vtech Kidizoom. When my in-laws asked what they could get for my son for Christmas, I figured this was a good opportunity to see if this camera was all it was cracked up to be.

When my son received this bright orange, rubber-coated, picture-taking apperatus, it was love at first sight - for all of us. It was easy to figure out, and the pictures are actually pretty decent. It's digital so all the pictures can be downloaded (or is that uploading?) on to your computer. My little guy went crazy taking pictures of Christmas decorations, furniture, the dog, and many close-ups of household items. This camera has editing functions that let you add silly graphics to the pictures like antennas and necklaces to a portrait. I could do without the game function which has very simple games. Luckily, the games are dull enough that my son is more interested in taking pictures.

What was most interesting about our budding photographer's work is his perspective. He took some great shots of things that I would never have thought to photograph. Not to mention, with his small stature, he is able to take shots from unique, funky, little boy angles that are not likely to be captured by an adult. We have several pictures of stranger's butts who were in line in front of us at a museum. I guess that's what you see at his eye level!

Another great thing about kids' photography is the reckless abandonment when it comes to the quantity of pictures they take. I was raised with a film camera so I always had to be conservative and make sure each shot counted. The digital camera allows one to be much more experimental with shots and take tons of photos with a better chance of getting some good ones out of the bunch. I do spend plenty of time deleting my son's pictures (with his permission) that are very blurry or undecipherable, but this is a small price to pay for my child getting the experience of taking pictures.

Having a camera allows kids to learn very basic principals of photography, like holding the camera still while shooting, framing the subject in the view finder, and using the zoom effectively. There is also a great sense of pride when children take their own photos. We print only the very special ones and have monthly slideshows of all the recent pictures he has taken. Adding pictures to my son's journal also gives us a timeline of his perspective, photography skills, and his interest in various subjects over the years.

This summer when you're taking a family trip, going for a hike, or just staying inside on a rainy day, arm your children with cameras and see what images they capture. I think you'll be impressed!

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