Kids are fearless when taking photos. Their creativity knows no bounds. But one of the most common questions moms ask me goes something like this, “How do I give creative direction to my kids, so I don’t end up with 100-plus photos of the family dog?”

Anyone relate? Your child gets a hold of your smartphone or camera, and you end up having endless photos of your hardwood floors. Never fear; there is an artist in your child that just needs a little direction.

With Blaze and Pascaline’s permission, I’m sharing a special post on Babble with a handful of their photos along with Thirteen Ways to Engage the Photographer in Your Kids!

Here is one of them!

#3.  Copy YOU!

This is one of my favorite photo exercises to do with the kids. I take a photo, and then I show it to Pascaline and Blaze. They have to take the same photo I took. We don’t do this all the time, but when I am wanting them to experiment with where they put the sun in their photo, or how much empty space they leave in the frame, or where to stand to compose the shot, instead of giving them a big lecture, I ask them to copy me. Whether it’s blurry, dark, too bright, doesn’t matter. On a subconscious level, they are practicing all the wonderful basic elements of composition by trying to replicate what I’ve captured. Mimicking the masters is an old practice that we do in piano, violin and painting lessons. Photography isn’t any different.  Blaze took this photo when he was five years old on a trip we made to Angkor Wat, Cambodia at sunrise. Click here, and scroll down to the second  photo I took to see what Blaze was practicing.

Go to my Babble post, 13 Ways to Engage the Photographer in Your Kids, for the rest!  And then be sure to enter you and your child’s favorites in the My World Photo Contest with Sesame Street!

xo,

m