Kids should be introduced to photography young!

“We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.”

– Ralph Hattersley.

Perhaps the greatest story ever told is in the click of the shutter button. Great photographers like Annie Leibowitz, Ansel Adams & Henri Cartier-Bresson gave us a new, different and compelling outlooks of our world thanks to their photos. To perceive the world as is, through the lens of a camera, sent waves of admiration, inspiration & creativity throughout the world. “Photography, in some ways, has become a modern-day extension of how we interact and communicate with others,” says Diana Nazareth, a Toronto photographer and educator who designs camera-based community outreach programs.

Photography also created an avenue to develop, innovate and upgrade the humble camera. Now in 2020, we have cameras capable of taking 8K quality images and photos. The development of lenses also led to scientific breakthroughs in astronomy, directly towards telescopic lenses. We can now see planets light-years away.

So what about the next generation? With all of our technological advancements in photography, our focus should be on passing the torch to the next generation. But why?

“Photography can help develop a child’s voice, vision, and identity as it pertains to their family, friends, and community", says Diana. Taking photos can help kids visualize the same thing in different ways. Ask kids to take a photo of the family dog, a big sister or their favourite toy and eventually they’ll be making lots of decisions. Kids who learn by experimenting often remember that information better than verbal instruction alone.

Photography can educate kids about geometrical patterns such as grids, borders, lines, and curves. Kids will then learn to use their abstract & spacial thinking to take the right picture that is eye-pleasing to all. This allows kids the opportunity to stretch their imagination within the realm of photography and improve their critical thinking skills. Another thing I've discovered about the joys of photography is that I learned patience. Some of the greatest photos taken required a lot of patience, stillness and focus. Most importantly, patience. This is an essential characteristic child should learn, especially in their younger years which will help them to be patient in other areas and aspects of their lives.

Getting your kids hooked on photography can also be a deterrent from bad or unhealthy habits. In 2020, the world of screens has dominated kid's lives and parents are finding it hard to get their kids interested in other hobbies instead of glueing their eyes to their screens. Photography is a fun, cool and interesting hobby to take up which will definitely get them to come off their screens. Parents, get your child on photography now and see the difference!

Thus for all those reasons I've stated above, photography is a really good hobby to get your kids hooked on. Even companies these days are making cameras specially designed for kids so they can experience photo-taking firsthand. Check this camera from myFirst out for starters; http://myfirst.tech/myfirst-camera-3/

Get your kids into photography and watch inspiration take place!