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My son and I recently added a month-long photography unit as an elective in our homeschool and several folks have asked me to explain in greater detail what we’re doing.
So, if you’d like a fun unit study to teach your kids more about photography or if you need to learn a few basics yourself, plan to join me over the next few weeks and I’ll share our mini lessons and daily picture taking assignments with you.
Get to know your camera!
If you read only one book about how to be a better photographer, read the manual that came with your camera. And when I say read the manual, I mean read it page-by-page so you understand what each gizmo and button on your camera does. (Yes, it’s a very nerdy thing to do, but trust me, you won’t regret it.)
For kids who might not be ready for such technical fair, spend some time going over each important part of the camera with them focusing on the features that you know that they will use.
During our first lesson, I spent about 30-40 min going over things like:
• Camera/lens care
• Battery life and charging techniques
• Memory cards – what they are and how the camera uses them instead of film
• A simple overview of each exterior button and what it does
We especially spent time on the wide angle and zoom features, as well as the timer features because we were going to be using those functions for our daily assignments. However, each day before I would send my son off to take his photos, I spent another 10-15 minutes going over the specific function that he would need to use that day.
I also showed my son the difference between a point and shoot camera like the one he was going to learn with, and my DSLR (that’s short for really snazzy and expensive) just so he would have a better understanding of the different levels of equipment that were available. You can definitely start out with a DSLR if you’d like, but in my opinion, a point and shoot is much simpler for kids to practice with.
Above all else, make sure that you have FUN and don’t overwhelm yourself or your kids with too much technical information. As the questions arise, “What does this button do again?” or “How do I take a picture like that?”, you’ll have a more eager and captive audience to get technical with.
The following list includes each picture taking assignment that we used to get to know our camera better after our first lesson.
The photos that I included were all taken by my son using a Nikon CoolPix S8000 camera and are SOOC (straight out of camera) with no post editing.
MONDAY- A wide angle & zoomed-in shot of the same thing
- Wide angle of the flowers
- And then a zoomed-in shot of the same flowers
TUESDAY – A zoomed-in photo of something very far away
- Rainbow in the clouds
WEDNESDAY – A self-portrait using a mirror
- This was taken in our dining room mirror
THURSDAY – A photo of your favorite place
- His computer (typical boy!)
FRIDAY – A photo of what you wore today using the timer setting on your camera
- His self-portrait using a tripod
I should mention that these lessons are meant to be very simple and basic and are not intended to be exhaustive in any way. Also, I am NOT a professional photographer and have never been formally trained in photography. I’m simply a mom that fell in love with taking pictures and read every digital photography book that I could get my hands on. For me, photography is an incredibly fun hobby and I’m overjoyed that my son is beginning to like it as much as I do!
Next week’s lesson & assignments…
Perspective – seeing things from a different point of view
Camera Happy,
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I enjoyed this post. I recently bought my older girl a camera as well. Her last assignment was to take any pictures of cats. We've lotsa stray cats here, and it made an interesting assignment.
What a great idea! My kids are obsessed with the camera lately, but mostly they just fight over who gets to use my old one. I think this would be great for my 7 yr old.
What a fun unit and a great idea!
BTW, have you seen the new Visual Latin? I saw it at Timberdoodle and am seriously considering buying it for myself! (or asking for it for my birthday – I've already told my husband about it.)
I just commented the other day that my little one's picture taking skills are sure improving and that maybe now is a time to think of her own camera. I will have to follow along on your journey and see what we can pull from it. Great idea!
Great Idea!
I to fell in love with taking pictures! Not many days go by without taking one!
So naturally my son also has shown an interest in it… I want to include Photography in our lesson plans for next year.
Thanks for the ideas!
I love this idea. I will plan to start next Monday. For one thing, because you said "Monday" and not "Day 1"
For another, I need to read my camera manual. Yes, I've had my DSLR for over 2 years & still haven't read the manual cover to cover. Oops.
Fantastic, Sue! Thank you so much for doing this! I need to learn first – and actually read my manual – but I have three eager girls who would love to learn too! Quick question (and it may be silly): does it matter if the photographer wears glasses? I have a lens that I can manually focus and it seems like what I see with my glasses on doesn't at all match the end result!
Carrie
I head up a Homeschool co-op and we're looking to offer a photography class next year. Your ideas are great and, I believe, will be used! As a photographer myself, you are absolutely right about reading the manual. There are beginner photography classes offered at local colleges for almost $100 and all they do is go over everything that is already in the manual. Read it w/ your camera next to you and practice what you're reading as you read it.
What a fantastic idea – Thank You for sharing your lesson plan. My daughter is getting a new camera and this will be perfect to work through with her.
What an awesome homeschool unit, Sue! Thanks so much for starting this series. (I'm another one who needs to read the manual!) I featured your post at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow.
What a good idea! I may just have to do this with my daughter. Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for sharing this! My daughter was recently given a new camera, and I was hoping to find a resource that she could use to learn about photography.
Oh, thank you for sharing this! After you mentioned it last week, I started thinking about how photography would be a perfect thing to learn about this summer as a fun project for the kids! Thanks for the inspiration! We will be following your posts to see what you have done. What simple, but fun lessons to make photography even more interesting.
[...] Photography 101 for Kids and Beginners from The Homeschool Chick [...]
Great post. Looking forward to the rest! This will be a great summer-time activity for my daughters.
Just what my son has been begging to do… you are awesome- thank you!