Is Three Year Old Kid Too Young For Camera?

[x-ray]

Dana's so cute she could almost charm the 1DsmkII out of an old guy like me.

Have you thought of a Holga or one with a flash. I remember when I was very little more than Dana's age watching my dad make prints with his old federal enlarger and the magic of seeing the image come up in the developer. She might enjoy the process too.

 

[Graham Line]

When my kid was that age -- about 17 years ago -- we started him on waterproof disposables (lots of beach trips). Probably no longer available. He was actually pretty good at keeping track of it, and had a pretty good eye.

 

[derevaun]

My 3yo plays with my cameras a lot too. She expects the click to happen, so I load it with a throwaway roll of Seattle Filmworks stuff and she can click and wind, click and wind. The hardest part for her is looking through the viewfinder. There are cheap P&S cameras with a big viewfinder window that would probably help that.

The Polaroid sticker film is a little cheaper than the dollar-a-shot 600, and the cameras that shoot them pretty much hold up the table legs of every garage sale in town. It might actually work out to be cheaper than the Dora stickers in the checkout line.

 

[lmd91343]

Raid,

I think your Canon IV and that nikkor 135/3.5 would do. 🙂

Seriously, age three is to young to teach any photographic concepts, with any camera. She would never connect any photo she took with any camera to the resultant image on the computer. She will destroy any cheap digital camera.

I am an experienced parent who can work without a net!

 

[julianphotoart]

Fisher-Price is apparently coming out with an indestructible digital camera intended for even very young kids. See http://www.fisher-price.com/preschoolelectronics/

In years past, Fisher-Price made cheap, kid-friendly and indestructible 35mm film cameras. eBoy is full of them.

 

[wintoid]

This is Barbiecam in action, taken with my DSLR. Katie is two and three quarters. Not sure whether she's actually framing or just copying my behaviour.

 

[oscroft]

Hi Raid,

I think your plan is exactly the right one myself. My nephew was about 5 when he started showing an interest in his dad's camera, and he was allowed to use it a bit and showed a remarkable eye for pics. So my sister bought him his own camera (a p&s digital) and it has become a natural thing for him and he takes pics intuitively (he's now 7), and he does seem to have a good eye. (I was an early starter myself, but not quite that early. My parents bought me my first Pentax when I was 11, and that cost them several arms and legs - I'd been using my old Voigtlander TLR until then).

I'd say your daughter is old enough to have a camera just as soon as she shows an interest in one - she'll be way too young to understand any technical stuff, sure, but even at that age she can be learning to "see", and even if it takes a few more years for her to start to develop a good eye, she'll be doing so as naturally and instinctively as possible.

Best,
Alan

PS: And you need to start saving for that Leica that she'll inevitably want when she's about 11 or 12 😉

 

[Magnus]

Don't under estimate the thought process of young kids. They might not know ehat they are exactly doing with the camera, but they do graps the "action-reaction" thought behind it.

My son is 2 years and he frequently shoots with one of these disposable Fuji things, most shots are not good, some however are pretty well framed and he grasps the idea that he took them. It takes time and loads of rolls but at one stage they do see it, and that at very early age.

Kids are basically clever, they don't often get things right but occasionally they do, and they know how they did it....

I would say keep on trying.... We have now lots of pictures of our pets, my sons friends (cuddly toys and stuff) all taken by him, and they hang on his bedroom wall, and he loves them.

On average he shoots 1 to 2 rolls a week, and doing it with these throw away thing it cannot cause much damage.

It will be a couple of years however before I hand him over his Leica Mp with 50 summicron which I bought on the day that he was born (all paperwork dated on his day of birth) and hasn't been used yet. He will be the first to shoot a picture on that one.

I#me not pressing him to become a photographer, I would just like to share my hobby with him.....

 

[Magnus]

.... And about age ... don't forget Lennons' lyrics:

"the day you are born they make you feel small, by giving you no chance/time (?) instead of it all....."

 

[ERV]

We allowed my younger daughter to use a small digicam when she was about 4. (she's 6 now)
In explaining how to use it we told her that the viewfinder was for 'framing' the picture- we explained what that meant- and the LCD screen was for viewing the picture after she took it. We also explained that it was easier to hold the camera steady with it up to her eye.

I realize that this may have financial repercussions later on and instead of dance lessons it will be an m8 (or daddy's extra M) but we felt it was important that she develop an understanding of how to take photos by looking at the image, and not a LCD screen held in front of her.
She's actually a surprisingly good photographer, which is the best part. 🙂

 

[BrianShaw]

.... And about age ... don't forget Lennons' lyrics:

"the day you are born they make you feel small, by giving you no chance/time (?) instead of it all....."

Don't forget... Lennon has no credentials as a child psyschiatrist/psychologist and was probably on drugs when he penned this. He was a fantastic lyricist and musician, but I'm not sure that I'd hold him up as a sage/mentor in the field of child-rearing.

Encouraging children is great, but all too often kids are being exploited by parents by being pushed into things that tax their emotional and physical capabilities. I'm not suggesting that anyone on this forum is doing that, nor am I suggesting that no 3yo is incapable of operating a camera to take photographs. It's just that at 3, there are a lot of physical/intellectual coordination limitations to consider.

I'm open to eventually giving photography a try with my 3yo, but I'm also going to be very observant for signs of frustration. Right now he's showing a wonderful spirit of learning and exceptional intellect/wit, but also exhibits significant frustration when he can't do things that he'd like to do. For today, however, I'm dealing with his desire to play GameBoy Advance (GBA)... which he does, but with coordination limitations that often leaves him crying or throwing the GBA in anger; maybe some day in the future I'll consider replacing the GBA with a cheap digicam.

 

[PeterL]

She's actually a surprisingly good photographer, which is the best part. 🙂

I'm convinced that plenty of people with no experience in photography make very good photographers. Not all of the time, of course, and technically it's not what we all got used to and like to see. But they have a way of looking at things which is very open to what they see, instead of what they expect on a photograph.

Kids in particular can come up with astounding out-of-the-frame thinking (frame not related to photography in this case). Of course they do, because they're not indoctrinated into what is "usual" yet. I'm looking forward to having my own (though it will be some time before that happens).


Peter.

 

[BrianShaw]

I'm convinced that plenty of people with no experience in photography make very good photographers. Not all of the time, of course, and technically it's not what we all got used to and like to see. But they have a way of looking at things which is very open to what they see, instead of what they expect on a photograph.

Kids in particular can come up with astounding out-of-the-frame thinking (frame not related to photography in this case). Of course they do, because they're not indoctrinated into what is "usual" yet. I'm looking forward to having my own (though it will be some time before that happens).

Acutally, this is quite true. My wife claims to know nothing about photography or photographic equipment (and I agree with her)... other than how to load film, push the shutter release, and drop the film off at the drugstore for processing. But she sure does take some great photos... especially of people. Why... it's what you say... she's unencumbered by the details and 'rules' of photography. Same with kids... as you say.

Don't wait... go have a couple of kids and you'll get a much better idea of what a 3yo kid is capable of. Some might have the coordination/patience/attention-span required for photography, but many don't. It's not their fault... it's a situation that is easily cured with time!

 

[raid]

Dana's so cute she could almost charm the 1DsmkII out of an old guy like me.

Have you thought of a Holga or one with a flash. I remember when I was very little more than Dana's age watching my dad make prints with his old federal enlarger and the magic of seeing the image come up in the developer. She might enjoy the process too.

Dana seems to be serious about getting a real camera. I will do my best to delay the destruction of the camera and to show her simple ways to get started.

Regards,
Raid

 

[RicardoD]

My 4yr and 2yr old love holding my Cameras. I do have a cheap Canon digital camera that I use for videos and I let the kids play with that. The focus and shutter lag is so slow it really works against the kids. My 4yrs knows how to push the button down but the damn thing never focuses and fires. I think I can set my cheap Canon into manual focus mode and maybe that will speed things up. They love to see the results on the little LCD screen.

My 2yr old will grab my tripod and make shutter clicking noises while standing behind it. I hope at least one of them gets the photo bug. Raid, anything that will allow us to interact with our kids I am sure will be very much appreciated and put big smiles on the wife's face as well. Good luck.

 

[tron]

My daughter is going to be three in three months' time. Ever since she could walk, she has been playing with toy cameras I bought her and she enjoyed it immensely.

About three months ago, she has started playing with my mobile phone, which has a 2 megapixels built in camera (a Sony 750i for that matter). She is able to take pictures with sharp focus and frame the subject really well, by looking through the LCD screen.

My advice to you is, either give her a mobile phone with camera, or find an old water proof digital camera. I think a lot of the camera manufacturers have this sort of beach cameras of low resolution, usually 1.3 or max. 2 megapixels. These did not do well when they hit the market and should be very cheap now.

The reason I suggest these two kinds is because our little monsters are prone to dropping things. They will ruin any camera by dropping them before you'd even notice. Mobile phones and beach cameras are shock resistant.

Hope that helps.

 

[Jonathan_100]

Kids and cameras belong togheter. For my fifth christmas I received a Kodak instamatic that took the old 126 carterage. When my daugher was around four I let her use my T4 if she asked. When she was five I gave her a Polaroid Captiva I found at a flea market for $5. She's 8 now and still uses it. She's not interested in digital yet. She likes the instant gratification of holding an image moments after she takes it. Every time a place a film order from B&H I have to order a pack of 500. This summer I'll teach her how to use the GSN. Once she has that down, we'll bump up to an SLR.

Give her a camera, and watch her light up.

Jonathan

 

[foto_mike]

Another approach

Another approach

I see nothing wrong with letting a 3-year-old use an inexpensive camera, but there's another approach for encouraging your daughter.

A camera is a tool. It captures images.

The intrinsic values that make a good photograph, composition, light, tone, color, etc., are the same that make for good art of any type. Many fine photographers are quite comfortable with the artistic concepts of composition and light because of natural talent, training, or both. I went to an gallery showing of a photographer I thought was very good. Somebody there asked him what photo magazines he read. He said he tended to pick up fine art magazines more than photo-specific magazines. That, and fashion magazines. He was a candid/street people shooter (but not stealth) and he liked to think in terms of art and style.

I'd encourage a 3-year-old to draw and paint as well as take photographs like daddy. As children grow up, I'd continue to introduce them the fine arts and encourage them to participate and learn about them as much as their interest affords.

Teaching someone the technical details of operating a camera is the easy part.

 

[jano]

Looks like it's a bit late, and you already have a camera for your daughter, Raid. But in case you wanna try something different, see if you staples has the Funky Cam. Mine, unfortunatley, didn't. You can also check out the cheap digital "disposables" at the drug stores, and you'll find information on the net how to reuse the camera yourself. *shrug*

I started with cameras at 5 with a polaroid, then dad brought me this russian thing at 7. But I lost interest for several years, and here I am again 😉

 

[oscroft]

It will be a couple of years however before I hand him over his Leica Mp with 50 summicron which I bought on the day that he was born (all paperwork dated on his day of birth) and hasn't been used yet. He will be the first to shoot a picture on that one.

That's cool, very cool - much respect!

Best,