Qamar Hashim is an eight-year-old boy who works as a professional photographer in Iraq. He’s a local celebrity, and has his photographs on display in exhibitions across Baghdad.
(via ISO 1200)
12-year-old Sam Kaye of Radlett, Hertfordshire has become the youngest person ever to earn a distinguished membership to the Royal Photographic Society, the world’s oldest photographic society. Kaye became a Licentiate of the RPS by submitting ten of his photographs anonymously to a panel of judges, who were shocked to learn of his age after awarding him with the distinction.
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Here’s a fun photo project you can do with any small kid (preferably not a stranger’s): spinning shots. All you have to do is set the self timer on your camera to automatically take a shot while it’s hanging around your neck. While it’s counting down, grab the child by the arms and spin them around. If luck is on your side, the photograph will show a clear subject, happy face, and motion-blurred background.
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Most cameras designed for young children have kid-friendly designs, but eye-numbingly bad image quality. On the other hand, a cheaper point-and-shoot camera shoots better photos but probably won’t last very long in the hands of a child. A way to make a cheap digital camera more kid-friendly and durable is to use Sugru, a special kind of silicone that resembles modeling clay. Strategically cover the camera with pieces of it, and you’ll have a camera that even the most reckless child will have a hard time breaking.
Awesome Bouncy Kids Camera Made with Sugru (via Laughing Squid)
Reddit user rocketchef strapped a GoPro video camera to a bike helmet and had their two-year-old daughter wear it during a trip to the playground. The resulting footage is a fun look at what the world looks like to a two-year-old.
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Having a hard time getting a kid to smile? Children’s photographer Jennifer Tonetti-Spellman suggests botching children’s songs on purpose to draw out natural smiles and laughs:
I always warn parents that I can be a little kooky during shoots. And to brace themselves for bad singing. Just take a song every child knows like Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Now, change a word in it. “Twinkle, Twinkle little COW.” What? COW??!!” Seriously. This. Works. Every. Time.
The child cracks up and you can get some mileage out of the joke a few more times. You will start to get the smile before you even ‘fill in the blank’ after you do it once, because they anticipate the silliness. I usually do it one more time and say “Oh I am so sorry, let me try again. Twinkle Twinkle, little DUCK.” You get the picture. This works best for children who actually understand what the words are in the song, and aren’t too old yet to give you the ‘this woman is not smart’ look.
(Don’t) Say Cheese! – 5 Tips for Getting Natural Smiles [I Heart Faces]
Image credit: someone is FINALLY comfortable with the camera. by candrews
Here’s a fun photo project you can try: recreate each of Calvin’s funny face photographs from Calvin and Hobbes. A version of this project done by a cute Asian boy was a popular viral photo a couple years ago. You can download the original Calvin montage here.
(via Reddit)
Image credit: Photographs by Sabrina and used with permission
You know the “anyone can cook” mantra spoken by Chef Gusteau in Pixar’s Ratatouille? It seems the same can be said about other forms of artistic expression as well, whether it’s photography or painting abstract pictures. Two unusual artists we featured here before were 3-year-old Ruby Ellenby and Cooper the photography-lovin’ cat. The above video shows Aelita Andre, a girl who became a professional abstract expressionist painter at the age of 3 and is called a “prodigy of color”.
Did you know that the world record for “youngest photographer” is currently held by Zoe Fung Leung of Hong Kong? She was only 2 years and 70 days old when she held an exhibition and print sale at Plaza Hollywood. If you have a child that’s younger than that, stick a camera in their hands and hire a good PR representative — the record may soon be yours theirs!
(via Boing Boing)
Made in the early 1960s, Fisher Price’s Picture Story Camera was the first “camera” owned by many photo-enthusiasts. They’re built out of paper-covered wood and plastic, and contained a tiny disc with eight different “photographs” that could be seen by looking through the viewfinder — similar to the View-Master, except not in 3D. To change the photo, you simply hold down the shutter and turn the “flash”, a yellow block with pictures representing the four seasons.
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Getting an infant or toddler to stare into your camera lens can be a challenge, and you’re forced to compete with all kinds of sights and sounds that easily steal their gaze and attention. Camera Creatures are hand-stitched toys that attach to the front of your camera lens to give your tiny subjects something cute to look at while you photograph them. They cost $10 in this Etsy store.
For a solution that’s less cute but possibly more effective, check out the ShutterBuddy, a checkboard pattern attachment that babies can’t resist.
Camera Creatures (via Photoxels)
