Why Do Kids Need to Learn Photography?

Photography isn’t just about pointing your camera at an object and hitting the shutter button to capture the moment. It’s about how you create a good composition of an image to make it captivating to look at. While photography requires basic knowledge like lighting and white balance, a good understanding of artistic elements is a requisite. That’s how you get the message across regarding how you want people to experience emotions in a captured image.

Speaking of technical aspects, you’ll get better over time at handling a camera, which allows you to catch hold of a moment until your device is ready to immortalize it. This is not a big deal for experts, but teaching your kid to not let go of a precious moment can be difficult. They need to increase their attention span first.

Why learn photography? For some, it can provide valuable life lessons. This will especially benefit children, as they still lack experience to make sense of the world around them. Apart from teaching gratitude for seeing the scenic beauty of our planet through the lens, it’s also a good tool to practice mindfulness and express all sorts of feelings.

Why learn photography?

1. It documents your child’s life

One good reason to hand a digital camera to your child is to let them photograph anything in front of their eyes. Many toy cameras for children have an inbuilt front camera. Not only do they capture the front view, but they can also be used for selfies. Let your son or daughter become the pilot of the recording device. If they need assistance, you can take over the operator role. Most parents don’t want to miss any stages of their child’s development, from the time they breathe their first breath, eat their first solid foods, and take their first steps until they reach adulthood. These moments are too priceless to slip away. They need to be preserved well, so that you can treasure them when they start to fade from your mind. The key to photographing a kid is to let them be their true self. You’d want every picture to be as candid as possible to boost its authenticity. It’s their innocent nature that you want to snap through the lens.

Read Also: What to teach in a photography class?

2. Aids in cognitive development

Kids grow at a fast rate in their first 5 years of life. Many areas, including their cognitive abilities, show significant growth. The way your child forms a coherent perception of the surroundings, solves problems, and holds attention is considered a cognitive ability. To further spur growth, you need to teach them things that promote brain stimulation. Introducing them to photography is one of them.

What’s the ideal age to engage them in this hobby? You can do it as soon as they understand how to handle a digital camera. At 3, most kids are already in the beginning phase of exploring. Their receptive, sponge-like minds are ready to accept ideas and complex learning goals. You can teach them how to take full advantage of the features that a camera has to create amazing pics. Since each product is different in operation, make sure to spend enough time with them during the learning process.

3. Sees the world in a different light

Photography isn’t just a tool to relive past memories. It also allows us to see the impeccable beauty of nature. You can let your kids capture whatever they like with the camera. A mixture of personal portraits and landscapes would be awesome. Keeping things as authentic as they come is the essence of landscape photography.

It’s best to leave all the elements untouched instead of trying to tamper with any of them. It’s more about fitting an entire view in the frame, not one specific object. This subset of photography will also get your kid enjoying the outdoors more. It’ll entice them to wander around to find secluded spots with spectacular views.

4. Makes them active

Physical activity provides many health benefits to children. It improves their stamina, cardiorespiratory fitness, and self-esteem. Other than that, it also helps prevent problems like anxiety as it can be an outlet to release pent-up energy. Being a photographer means you have to immerse yourself in a scene instead of hoping for it to happen. That’s why being active is mandatory.

Even if your kid doesn’t fully grasp the concept of aesthetics, at least you can tell them what it takes to compose a stunning image by moving around to fill the frame with the desired subject. Instead of waiting for a magnificent scene to unfold, tell them to present that opportunity themselves by being active. By the way, many ravishing moments take place at the same time. They just don’t happen in front of your camera lens. For this reason, don’t just be a spectator. Unless it’s a time-lapse recording, look around and add yourself to any interesting scene.

Read Also: How to Teach Kids Photography?

5. Boosts their mood

Mood swings are a common problem in children. Just because it’s prevalent doesn’t mean you shouldn’t address it. Involving your little one in activities they love can help prevent a sudden change in their emotional state. For instance, photography can act as a distraction so that they don’t have time to be upset about something. It’s normal to witness such abrupt shifts because kids lack the emotional language to describe their feelings.

These negative dispositions will build up over time, and if they can’t take it anymore, they’ll throw a tantrum and sometimes won’t hold back. Photography can help in many ways. It revolves around visuals, which can relax their overactive minds. Beautiful portraits and landscapes have the power to induce happiness. And as we know, happiness is a key factor behind the increased production of serotonin and other feel-good hormones. If your child gets a daily dose of these chemicals, they’ll be more content and optimistic.

6. Improves creativity

Sometimes it’s hard to keep faith in our creative abilities. For shutterbugs, it happens more often than many want to admit. It’s reasonable, especially when you’ve been doing the same thing for a long time. When this strikes, it takes time to rekindle that spark. Children are not exempt from that. When you first introduce photography to your child, they might be joyous and absorbent of all the lessons. But there could be a point where they’d stop making progress.

What to do to bring back that fire they once had? Reinvention is the answer. As they gain more experience with digital cameras, they become more knowledgeable about the technical aspects of each type. They’ll also be cleverer in expressing themselves through pictures. But in case they’re on the brink of creative collapse, give them a new device to learn. Also, invite them to explore new styles besides the usual landscapes or self-portraits. There are many other genres to go deeper into, like aerial, abstract, macro, etc.

Read Also: Photography Projects for Kids

Why does your kid want to become a photographer?

Every kid has their own reason to adore photography. It could be as simple as liking visual art or something more ambitious. Your role as a parent is to guide them through the thought process in the hopes that they can achieve what they’ve been dreaming of.

You can provide insights into the fundamental elements of photography and then let them do the rest from their own point of view. We’re sure every kid has the capacity for that. Provide the necessary resources to help them dissect the multiple dimensions of photography, with a quality camera being an example.

How many years photography course/training?

Some courses are designated as one-semester programs, meaning that you can complete them in approximately 15 weeks. But if you opt for an associate’s degree, it would take a lot longer, like about 2 years.

Why is photography an important skill?

Photography in general is important because it captures memories in time for future generations to use. But when it comes to how important it is to me personally, opinions would vary. Some would say it’s important because it’s part of their job, while others might feel indifferent because they don’t do it much.

Read Also: Best Photography Apps for Kids and Teens

What do you learn from photography?

Photography can bring so much joy and teach us many things, like patience, emotions, self-expression, and compassion.

Conclusion

So, why learn photography? Photography is a way to preserve moments as they unfold and turn them into unforgettable memories that we can revisit at any time. Without it, we’ll lose traces of what has happened simply because it’s impossible to turn back the clock. By teaching your kid this art, they’ll be more aware of how influential a photo can be. As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.

Photography is an effective nonverbal form of communication to share a whole range of thoughts. Besides, it can also help sharpen their creative-thinking skills. Taking a sublime picture isn’t as easy as you think because it needs the right balance of many things, like colors, light, and contrasts. Being skillful with a camera isn’t enough. The purpose or intent of the photographer should be conveyed precisely. And that’s what your child needs to learn because a photo needs to tell a story built upon the snapper’s vision.