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Teaching photography to kids can be incredibly rewarding. If you hand a camera to a child, you’ll soon realize that they see the world around them much differently than adults. They tend to take notice of the smallest, most insignificant things that many of us overlook. Since children see the world differently, it’s important to plan a photography camp around what appeals the most to children. Here are my top 8 tips for successfully teaching a kids photography camp.
(Photo below courtesy Blencoe and Co. Photographic)
1. Location is key. Pick an ideal location for hosting a kids photography camp, such as renting part of a community or recreation center near a park. A beautiful park in nature is the perfect place for children to release their energy, and allows them to photograph a wide variety of subjects such as plants, animals, insects, landscapes, and other children. The community or recreation center will serve as your classroom for the day.
(Photo below courtesy Blencoe & Co. Photographic)
Click here to view Pre-written Basic Digital Photography for Kids Curriculum
2. Don't teach too long.
Children want to be out doing things instead of feeling like they’re stuck in a classroom. Try to explain the day’s project within 20 minutes, and allow the next hour+ to let them roam around and photograph.
3. Keep the camp days short enough to retain their attention span. Two hours is a great length of time to give an introductory assignment, allow them to go out and photograph, and then review the images together.
(Photo below courtesy Blencoe and Co. Photographic)
4. Charge a reasonable price. Half-day camps lasting around 4 hours typically charge $150-200. To make the camp more accessible to families that may not be able to afford that price, you could charge $75-100 for a 2 hour camp, and offer two of these camps back to back – perhaps the first one from 10am-12pm and the second one from 2pm-4pm.
5. Create a display of the student's work. At the end of the camp, put together a slideshow or small display of the students’ best work throughout the week. To keep costs low, this could be as simple as putting together a slideshow for the parents to watch the last day of camp. Alternatively, you could check with local printers to see if they could make quick, low-cost prints of the work, which you could then display on the wall of the community or recreation center room you have rented out.
6. Keep things simple. One of the most important things to remember is to keep things simple. As soon as you get too complicated or technical, children are going to start getting bored. Focus on simple photography techniques such as filling the frame or shooting at a “birds-eye” or “worms-eye” You can also teach about lighting, since the weather will likely change from day to day (shooting in cloudy vs sunny conditions).
(Photo below courtesy Blencoe & Co. Photographic)
Click here to view the Photographer Badge Template
7. Always be positive. While the children are attending your kids photography camp to learn, they’re also there to have fun. Try not to give too much criticism, and instead point out what good qualities all of their photographs have.
8. Keep assignments interesting. Let children go out and photograph whatever they want, but have them put together a story around their favorite photograph. Perhaps they’ll come up with a story about a boy who built a tree house in an old maple tree, or a worm who was trying to find his home.
(Photo below courtesy Blencoe and Co. Photographic)
Teaching a children’s photography summer camp can be a delight if you go into the project with all the knowledge you need to succeed. You may just find that the children will teach you a thing or two about finding the perfect subject.
Bonus tip: This photography camp doesn't have to be taught only in the summer. Think about teaching a kids photography camp during spring and winter break too!
Are you interested in teaching a kids photography class? Click here to get all the tools you need: http://www.magazinemama.com/collections/templates-for-teaching/products/basic-digital-photography-for-kids-course-curriculum-bundle
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