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<\/a><\/p>\nI’ve known for months but of course waited until the last moment to prepare my lesson and activity for the kids. \u00a0I kept thinking… what do you teach a group of little kids\u00a0about photography? \u00a0I can thank this Clickin’ Mom’s breakout training,\u00a0Teach Your Kids Photography<\/a>,\u00a0with some of the basic ideas and themes\u00a0I ended up using in the near 40 slides the\u00a0kids and I walked through this morning. \u00a0However, once I got started thinking and teaching my own kids a few things, hands-on in preparation for today, the lesson and activity to follow started to come together.<\/p>\n The 31 four to six\u00a0year-olds couldn’t have been more well-behaved and their enthusiasm, questions and desire to learn and play hands-on still has me smiling ear to ear.<\/p>\n The kiddos learned about camera safety, the parts of a camera, and lots of big photo words like exposure, viewpoint, and focus.\u00a0 They learned a few composition techniques including \u201cfilling the frame\u201d,\u00a0 \u201crule of thirds\u201d, finding leading lines, and using negative space.\u00a0 We talked a little bit about shadows and color (the basics of white balance).<\/p>\n Finally they\u00a0learned how to hold a camera and take a picture that we glued into a \u201cframe\u201d they decorated.<\/p>\n One of the favorite things I learned from the kids today (because you can always learn something from the little ones!) is that a handful of them shared that they love holding actual printed pictures in their hands. \u00a0They thought it was fun to see themselves reflected back in the image. \u00a0It reminded me, yet again, how important it is to PRINT your photos. \u00a0My friends, family and clients all know how strongly I feel about this. \u00a0It was great to take the opportunity to tell the kids the encourage their Moms and Dads to pick some favorite photos together from their camera or smartphone and print them together to put in a shoebox or album.<\/p>\n I wrote the parents of campers a letter after teaching today. \u00a0In the letter I shared with the parents that\u00a0the early years that their kids are in now are exciting and full of wonder. \u00a0I reminded them that their child is in a stage where they love to learn and\u00a0activities like photography that they can do together with their parents are perfect. \u00a0Hands-on activities are going to help kids find enjoyment and fun in\u00a0photography. \u00a0Something else I shared with parents in the letter was my answer to a question I am often asked, “What camera should I buy for my child?”. \u00a0My thoughts are this… as technology advances, photography becomes more and more affordable. \u00a0Purchase a small, simple, indestructible, reasonably priced kid-friendly point-and shoot. \u00a0I personally rank the following three things as a top priority: (1) durability, (2) the ability to have external memory with an SD card slot to make it easy to get pictures off\u00a0the camera, and (3) a higher number of megapixels so the prints you make from them are a bit higher quality. Take a peek at Amazon.com<\/a>.\u00a0 There are lots of highly rated kiddo cameras by VTech, Fisher Price, LEGO, Crayola, Discovery Kidz, etc. to select from with lots of reviews from Moms and Dads who have used them with their kiddos.<\/p>\n How cute are these cute outtake pictures that the kids took of me?<\/p>\n Over the next few months I’m going to try to blog and share some ideas on how to enjoy photography with your kids, at this age and older ages. \u00a0My 8 and 11 year old are in the middle of summer photography camp with Mom. \u00a0Maybe one of them will want to do a guest blog-post by the end of the summer. \u00a0\ud83d\ude09 \u00a0A big thanks to my hubby, business partner and second shooter for his behind the scenes footage today!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n