I love how photography is such an accessible, universal form of art. Today iI am sharing a few simple tips about teaching photography to toddlers. As an art educator and photographer myself, I of course want my daughter to be able to take photos. I will detail everything we have done to help her be as self-sufficient as possible in her photography practice as well as how we plan to continue to help her grow as an artist.
Initial Exposure
The first step to teaching photography to a toddler is simply exposure! Let them see you taking photos, and show them cameras. They will have a natural interest in the buttons, gears, switches, and images, I promise. Our family started with simple toy cameras and then non-working vintage cameras as toys when our daughter was a baby. She sees me taking photos all of the time, and imitates those gestures often.
When she turned two, we got her a little digital camera so she could really take a photo. That promptly got dipped in a pool and died, so for her third birthday she got a waterproof one (Amazon affiliate link). You can see an example from that camera below. It can do normal photos and also has a lot of “filters.” She also practices using our phones all the time. She actually taught us that you can swipe left from the home screen to get to the camera. 😂 Phones are a great resource. they can be difficult to hold and press the button, so you might try teaching the use of the volume button as a shutter release because that position of the finger is closer to how a “real” camera would be pressed.
The guidelines for teaching photography to toddlers
When kids start taking photos, there are only two things they need to be practicing IMO (hi, certified K-12 art educator here). Toddlers and young children are not ready for exposure, focusing or composition lessons. What they need practice with when they get started is simple: find something interesting to photograph, keep the camera still + steady, and keep the subject(s) in the frame.
When you encourage your child on how to do this, do not get wordy. I repeat. Do not get wordy. You will lose them quicker than you lose your cup of coffee in the morning. Keep your explanations and guidance as simple and relaxed as possible.
“Keep the camera steady, make sure your (person/object/subject) is in the frame!”
Repeat that simple guidance every now and then. Support with things like, “I notice you like taking photos of the dog. I wonder what you will photograph next.” Maybe, “I notice that I can see all of daddy’s face in this photo, he has such a nice smile” “I see you’re getting really excited about this, I am excited to see what you photograph, too!” “I notice you are standing very still when your take your photos, I wonder if that helps you.”
Keep it chill, keep it light. Let them experiment. Right now Emme is obsessed with making everyone “ghosts” which is an infrared filter on her camera and we are rolling with it. lol.
Continuing the practice
You can encourage the actual use of the camera by taking it on walks, offering photo scavenger hunts inside or outside, or asking for their help documenting something. They will get better with practice all on their own. As they get older, you can start to introduce more prompts into their practice to inspire and challenge them. If photography doesn’t seem to interest them, please don’t force it. I can almost guarantee that will decrease their interest even more.
The other thing to try is showing them different kinds of cameras. We have a fujifilm instant camera which is SO FUN and easy to use. It can help toddlers practice slowing down as they learn pretty quickly that when you run out of film, it is gone. (and fair warning, they will use all 10 sheets of film in a pack in like 30 seconds the first time they try this, lol). As they get older, upgrade! *Edited this post in 2024 to add that when Emme turned 4 we bought her this camera, which she is now using regularly as a 5 year old. This is one of the photos she has taken on that camera, so it is definitely still not the “best” quality but MUCH better than the other camera and she loves it because it looks more like Mom’s camera!
Has your child showed an interest in photography? Tell me if this was helpful below. 📷
Interested in More?
Here are some of our most popular art education posts, and if you are interested in learning more about photography yourself, see our dedicated website, Manual Mode for Moms.