Showing children photography that's fun

[wilt]

I've been asked by my sons teacher to show his class about photography. I don't have a clue how I can make it fun and informative without getting too technical. Can anyone give me an idea of what way I can approach this?

 

[Mich56]

how old are the children?

 

[wilt]

8-10 years old.

 

[f/1.2]

I did this a year or two ago for my daughters class she was around the same age, I also did a similar thing for young adults with learning disabilities not long after.

For the school kids I did a very short powerpoint presentation using one of the schools projectors on a very dumbed down explanation of the exposure triangle and the rule of thirds, they were very bored as I sort of expected them to be to be honest.

I then let them play with some gear, showed them how to hold a camera properly, grab a few photos each and and printed them out on a little canon selphy printer which I had also brought along. This part they really enjoyed, the one thing they seem to be the most fascinated about was when I showed them the difference between some photos taken with natural light and with a flash on and off camera. I think they just liked the technology in terms of being able to use the flash wirelessly. They also seemed to like when I showed them how to use a mobile phone to control the camera.

For the young adults with learning disabilities I learned my lesson and brought a long a lot more gear and just went straight in with showing them the gear and letting them grab a few photos each, printing them out etc. I was supposed to only be there for an hour but ended up staying a lot longer and it was loads of fun for me too.

 

[KIPAX]

I then let them play with some gear, showed them how to hold a camera properly, grab a few photos each

The one thing thats jumps out at me (and it really does) is 8 to 10 yr olds getting hold of my gear..... then I thought maybe it was a camera on a short tripod and you let them at it one at a time while you watched every move maybe ?

I was asked to give a talk to some school kids.. i jumped at it as i love sharing info.. then i got home...... and the more i thought about it the scarier it got and eventually backed out of it

 

[stumac]

What about the Lego figures and macro work we see quite abit on here

 

[keeweeman]

i would imagine the key is keep it light, relaxed and as non-technical as you can get away with at that age, if you stiffen up the kids will get bored and lose interest and that will just mean you will be cleaning a lot of bogies off your gear after the hands on part of things

 

[f/1.2]

The one thing thats jumps out at me (and it really does) is 8 to 10 yr olds getting hold of my gear..... then I thought maybe it was a camera on a short tripod and you let them at it one at a time while you watched every move maybe ?

I was asked to give a talk to some school kids.. i jumped at it as i love sharing info.. then i got home...... and the more i thought about it the scarier it got and eventually backed out of it

I never worry about this, what's the worst that could happen, something gets dropped and damaged that's what insurance is for. If I worried about gear getting damaged I would never take any photographs and would keep it all pristine at home.

To be fair between the two of us we have 8 cameras at the moment, I appreciate not everyone has that much gear lying around and that losing a camera or a lens for a little while might be more of an issue.

What about the Lego figures and macro work we see quite abit on here

Wish I had thought of that my eldest loves stuff like that.

 

[Nod]

FAST and impressive results, so a decent printer (A4 at least). Don't get too hung up on technicalities unless one or 2 (or maybe more!) want to know why someone's blurred or why a picture looks sharp from front to back. Get them interested in snapping and hope that their interest in photography develops (sorry!) further.

 

[jamesev]

Do the bucket explanation for exposure big hole small time = small hole for big time with some water. Suspend the bucket above a fish tank to collect the water. Then use the water in the fish tank for some splash photography (dropping apples and stuff into the water.

 

[AMcUK]

I would do something practical to show the how a fast shutter speed can freeze action - getting them to jump in the air and using a fast shutter to freeze them "flying"
How a slow shutter makes the same movement into a blur same jump in the air
And if you can a second curtain flash to combine the two, blurred with a crisp person mid air.

There is a Japanese photographer who specialised in it
https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/not-just-a-jump-but-levitation/

If you can tether to a larger screen then I would think that would help rather than trying to get a bunch of kids around the LCD.

 

[F1.2]

LEGO

opps just seen above

 

[d00d]

I read the OP earlier and it got me thinking > > >

1. I'd start with a brief history of the camera, pics of vintage equipment if poss (?). Finishing with saying they are the lucky generation born into the golden era of photography, even if that's not true.

2. I'd talk about composition, the importance of focusing on your subject, the rule of thirds and all that, with diagrams.

3. I'd talk about how a single shot can capture a moment in time and freeze it to be studied next week, next year, in a hundred years time, And how a still photo can say much more that a moving image, video(?).

4. I'd ask for volunteers to have their photo taken (teacher will organise email of jpegs to them/parents later) . While taking photos you could talk about compo and different creative approaches ... these won't be mugshots, they'd be stuff like the back & side of a pupil's head looking at mates (OOF) at the other end of the room. Get them to all put their hands on a desk, you stand on a chair to get a birds eye view. Get them to dance around whilst you do motion blur group photos. Try getting them to do stuff like pretending to concentrate while slumped over a desk pretending to write while you take a close-up low perspective shot focusing on the pencil. Etc. etc.
*get teacher to put a name to the hands, feet, blurred figure etc afterward.

You should be able to get a couple of hundred, keeping the best 10%.

I would not talk about your camera, triangles and stuff, but how you can capture the world differently through the lens.

Before going, tell them you'll be back this time next year to talk about how the camera works and how to operate it to your best advantage. But they need to put their name down.

They're gonna love it!

 

[Byker28i]

Which direction do you want to take this? Which way does the teacher want this to go? They'll probably be something about picture sharing safety?

At that age, they'll get bored quickly so you need to grab their attention. Start with a couple of really good images that will grab them, doesn't have to be yours. Something impressive, but is related somehow to what practical thing they are going to be doing.

A bit of history - old plate or box cameras, black and white then colour film, now digital and the sort of timescales. Shouldn't take more than 10 mins or so.

Perhaps explain that photos are that split second captured as a memory and it's better to have that image than something technically perfect. (good example of d-day landing photo?)

8-10 - most would have phones? Explain how lucky there are, how good camera phones are in the right situation and some limitations, this might be the point the teacher can step in about safety aspect while you set up the practical.

If you get them to use cameras, then they'll be spit into groups. Think about how do you keep everyone in that small group involved.

Portraits would work with everyone swapping roles, so one with the camera, one as the subject sat near a window, one with a sheet of white paper as a reflector etc

Then you walk around assisting, suggesting - "what do you think would happen if you tried..."

Then you need to import and print them out so everyones got one to take home, don't have to be big - 6x4's? I've worked in an orphanage in Uganda with Polaroid Pogos, producing business card size portraits (but they take a minute a print)

 

[wilt]

I read the OP earlier and it got me thinking > > >

1. I'd start with a brief history of the camera, pics of vintage equipment if poss (?). Finishing with saying they are the lucky generation born into the golden era of photography, even if that's not true.

2. I'd talk about composition, the importance of focusing on your subject, the rule of thirds and all that, with diagrams.

3. I'd talk about how a single shot can capture a moment in time and freeze it to be studied next week, next year, in a hundred years time, And how a still photo can say much more that a moving image, video(?).

4. I'd ask for volunteers to have their photo taken (teacher will organise email of jpegs to them/parents later) . While taking photos you could talk about compo and different creative approaches ... these won't be mugshots, they'd be stuff like the back & side of a pupil's head looking at mates (OOF) at the other end of the room. Get them to all put their hands on a desk, you stand on a chair to get a birds eye view. Get them to dance around whilst you do motion blur group photos. Try getting them to do stuff like pretending to concentrate while slumped over a desk pretending to write while you take a close-up low perspective shot focusing on the pencil. Etc. etc.
*get teacher to put a name to the hands, feet, blurred figure etc afterward.

You should be able to get a couple of hundred, keeping the best 10%.

I would not talk about your camera, triangles and stuff, but how you can capture the world differently through the lens.

Before going, tell them you'll be back this time next year to talk about how the camera works and how to operate it to your best advantage. But they need to put their name down.

They're gonna love it!

All great stuff and everyone's else's input.
I'm going to tether to a 17" laptop so they can see the photos taken. Not gonna delve too much in to the technical side. The history and types of photography is a good idea to cover.
But if they're anything like myself, taking photos is where the fun is.

 

[wilt]

Which direction do you want to take this? Which way does the teacher want this to go? They'll probably be something about picture sharing safety?

At that age, they'll get bored quickly so you need to grab their attention. Start with a couple of really good images that will grab them, doesn't have to be yours. Something impressive, but is related somehow to what practical thing they are going to be doing.

A bit of history - old plate or box cameras, black and white then colour film, now digital and the sort of timescales. Shouldn't take more than 10 mins or so.

Perhaps explain that photos are that split second captured as a memory and it's better to have that image than something technically perfect. (good example of d-day landing photo?)

8-10 - most would have phones? Explain how lucky there are, how good camera phones are in the right situation and some limitations, this might be the point the teacher can step in about safety aspect while you set up the practical.

If you get them to use cameras, then they'll be spit into groups. Think about how do you keep everyone in that small group involved.

Portraits would work with everyone swapping roles, so one with the camera, one as the subject sat near a window, one with a sheet of white paper as a reflector etc

Then you walk around assisting, suggesting - "what do you think would happen if you tried..."

Then you need to import and print them out so everyones got one to take home, don't have to be big - 6x4's? I've worked in an orphanage in Uganda with Polaroid Pogos, producing business card size portraits (but they take a minute a print)

Great stuff too, thanks.