Making Art with Digital Cameras

A kid photographer can make great works of art with their digital camera. If your child is increasing in their photography skills, here are a few tips to pass on to help your child improve their skills:

Play with the light – Lighting in a picture is very important. Inform your child that the sunlight should always be behind them, not their subjects. If the sun is in front of them, the finished photo will be nothing more than a big sun blot. If your child is taking a picture inside, stress the importance of lighting. Have them stand with lamps or overhead lighting behind them if it is possible and be sure to use the flash if there is not enough light. Also, keep subjects out of the shadows as they will produce a dark picture with unrecognizable subjects. Proper lighting brings out the shapes, textures and structures in a picture. Have your child experiment with completely dark pictures that are illuminated only by flashlights. Flashlight photography is quite unique and will be sure to get your child’s imagination running.

Flashlights can jazz up photo effects.

Enjoy different colors – Show your child how to change their background colors or use props to add new colors to add to their pictures. Natural lighting is white and artificial light will have shades of yellow, orange or green. If your child wants their pictures to look “warm”, have them start shooting earlier or later in the day when the sunlight appears to be more orange.

Use props – A great way to increase their imagination and photography skills is to add props to their pictures. Here are two great props to use: Bubbles – Blow bubbles on the subject or just in front of the camera lens. You can pick up some bubbles at your local store or at a party supply store. If your child is taking pictures of their younger sibling, bubbles will help them gain the response they need from their subject. Almost every child loves bubbles and will certainly give a large smile to your other child taking the picture. Bean Bag Chairs – A cheap prop to use is a bean bag chair. Bean bag chairs can be found at your local store. If you notice the bean bag chair is having a flash reflection, you can cover it up with a blanket or large piece of fabric. Again, if your older child is taking pictures of their younger siblings, a bean bag chair can offer several different posing positions.

Close ups – Another fun picture comes with close-ups. The digital camera you purchase may have a zoom, but if it doesn’t you should teach them how to get in close to your subject and capture the detail. Animal shots look really cool when you are able to get right up next to them. The detail of your pet’s hair will show up in your photograph, even on a 1 mega pixel camera.

Have a focal point – A common problem children make when shooting pictures is the focal point. teach your child about having a focal point. An interesting photograph has something interesting in it. Teach your child how to find a central point of interest and how to highlight it in their photograph by different positioning or by using their zoom. The focal point can be a mountain, an animal, or anything else that captures their interest. A unique focal point is the eye of an animal.

With some of the above tips, your child can improve on their existing photography skills and begin creating great works of art with the digital camera in their hands. A great thing about a digital camera is that it allows your child to take as many pictures as they want, upload them to the computer and review them without having to print them out like the old days!