Funny… last Thursday (or was it Friday maybe?), while we were on our way to his preschool, my youngest son was indeed playing photographer. He would grab his little blue Mickey Mouse camera, hold it up to his eye, and point it at the various things that caught his attention.
Totally unintended, just a goofy party favor received years ago. It’s actually one of those projection/slides toys where, if you look through the "viewfinder," you see a couple of slides of Mickey playing football, and you change slides by clicking the "shutter." It just happens to be in the shape of a camera. Although I have to say, every time they can (I have two boys), they’ll take my REAL camera and go nuts with it, sometimes with rather interesting results!
Your photos are excellent as always, though I disagree with your thoughts about kids and photography. When you give a kid a camera they take to it naturally. Everything looks amazing to them. It's like "beginners mind" that we as photographers should all strive for.
They don't first edit their images in their mind and think, "That won't get enough likes", or, "everyone photographs that church, I won't bother". Show them a little technique like intentional camera motion with LED lights and they will play for hours.
Perhaps a better question than "why don't kids play photographer" is for us aspiring photogs to ask, "Why don't we play more as children and see the world with fresh eyes."
You're right, fresh kidlike eyes are a great asset in photography, and in life in general. And yeah, maybe my observation is not substantiated by enough data, I was leaning on personal experience, so you made me doubt my opinion .. Thx for that!
Quite welcome, but having said all that, I do also see kids (and a lot of adults too) are super distracted, and I think maybe that is what you were observing as well. Between constant screen time, incessant gaming or app usage, and all of that. To me photography can be an antidote for that, as a way of helping all people to get into the zone, in the moment, and be more attuned to the world around them.
Interestingly my kids did like to play photographer when they were little. When my son was 3 years old, Fisher-Price made a 35mm camera for kids. (This was before the digital age!). He really enjoyed taking his own photos and I loved seeing from his perspective. Later when my daughter was 3, we gave her one also. They both loved using their cameras and I cherish those photos today. - They quickly learned, even at that young age, that the film was to be used wisely. They couldn’t just snap away. When there wasn’t film in their cameras, they would pretend that there was and play photographer. - I think this developed a love of art and image for both of them. My 29 year old son is a film producer and photographer, and my 25 year old daughter is an artist and aspiring film maker. By the way, we still have those cameras!
Congrats Alicia with such an artistic family! I'd love to sit in on a family diner :)
As I posted here earlier: I'll have to revise my opinion on the subject. It seems there are plenty of kids playing photographer, it's just that my personal experience seems too narrow to come to a correct conclusion. I'll stick to my knitting in the future, as the proverb goes.
I’ve yet to see kids running around with a toy camera shouting, “Say cheeeeeeeese!” or, “Let’s go outside, it’s golden hour!” Why is that? Too funny 🤣🤣🤣
Funny… last Thursday (or was it Friday maybe?), while we were on our way to his preschool, my youngest son was indeed playing photographer. He would grab his little blue Mickey Mouse camera, hold it up to his eye, and point it at the various things that caught his attention.
Hi Guillermo, may I ask you a question? Did your son ask for a play camera? Or was it gifted to him, without him explicitly asking for one?
Totally unintended, just a goofy party favor received years ago. It’s actually one of those projection/slides toys where, if you look through the "viewfinder," you see a couple of slides of Mickey playing football, and you change slides by clicking the "shutter." It just happens to be in the shape of a camera. Although I have to say, every time they can (I have two boys), they’ll take my REAL camera and go nuts with it, sometimes with rather interesting results!
Your photos are excellent as always, though I disagree with your thoughts about kids and photography. When you give a kid a camera they take to it naturally. Everything looks amazing to them. It's like "beginners mind" that we as photographers should all strive for.
They don't first edit their images in their mind and think, "That won't get enough likes", or, "everyone photographs that church, I won't bother". Show them a little technique like intentional camera motion with LED lights and they will play for hours.
Perhaps a better question than "why don't kids play photographer" is for us aspiring photogs to ask, "Why don't we play more as children and see the world with fresh eyes."
You're right, fresh kidlike eyes are a great asset in photography, and in life in general. And yeah, maybe my observation is not substantiated by enough data, I was leaning on personal experience, so you made me doubt my opinion .. Thx for that!
Quite welcome, but having said all that, I do also see kids (and a lot of adults too) are super distracted, and I think maybe that is what you were observing as well. Between constant screen time, incessant gaming or app usage, and all of that. To me photography can be an antidote for that, as a way of helping all people to get into the zone, in the moment, and be more attuned to the world around them.
Interestingly my kids did like to play photographer when they were little. When my son was 3 years old, Fisher-Price made a 35mm camera for kids. (This was before the digital age!). He really enjoyed taking his own photos and I loved seeing from his perspective. Later when my daughter was 3, we gave her one also. They both loved using their cameras and I cherish those photos today. - They quickly learned, even at that young age, that the film was to be used wisely. They couldn’t just snap away. When there wasn’t film in their cameras, they would pretend that there was and play photographer. - I think this developed a love of art and image for both of them. My 29 year old son is a film producer and photographer, and my 25 year old daughter is an artist and aspiring film maker. By the way, we still have those cameras!
Congrats Alicia with such an artistic family! I'd love to sit in on a family diner :)
As I posted here earlier: I'll have to revise my opinion on the subject. It seems there are plenty of kids playing photographer, it's just that my personal experience seems too narrow to come to a correct conclusion. I'll stick to my knitting in the future, as the proverb goes.
I love the velvety blacks in your photos. Terrific shot of the jogger with a leaf in the foreground.
a deep and soft black, a whisper of night’s embrace
it cradles the world in its velvet grace,
shadows linger, yet peace fills space
Thx for your positive note Mark!
Loving those street photos 👌📸
Thx Richard. Been on it since 2016.
I’ve yet to see kids running around with a toy camera shouting, “Say cheeeeeeeese!” or, “Let’s go outside, it’s golden hour!” Why is that? Too funny 🤣🤣🤣
It's common knowledge that a carriage turns into a pumpkin when golden hour is over ...