Fun times with daughter

[jedirunner]

So, as some of you know already, my daughter shoots with me (she uses the PowerShot SX30 IS while I use the dslr). She's learning a lot already.

Anyway, I offered to give my kids each "points" when they work on their talents and hobbies. Those points can be turned in for extra fun rewards when they save them up. For this daughter, I offered her the chance to earn points whenever she does a write up on what she learns from photography. It was a fun write-up even if not really perfectly accurate. Her understanding is starting (and TBH, mine is only a bit ahead of her probably!).

Anyway, her write-up was fun to read, and I was proud of the little 10 year old. So here it is for your ignoring or reading pleasure:

Kevin
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Aperture: Make sure with Aperture, that you set your aperture just the right lighting, and look on the viewfinder, to see the lighting, and if it is reasonable, or not.


ISO:Make sure that the ISO isn`t very high, like 1600 when you are taking a photo, or your photo will look to light, and it won`t focus right.


Shutter speed: Make sure that your shutter speed isn`t too high when the photo you are taking is bright, or else it will let TOO much light in, and totally bleach out the photo, so all that you can see is bright white.


Tripods: Make sure you always have a tripod with you, and make sure that if you are taking a portrait, than you don`t move the camera, or else your picture will only turn out REALLY blurry, and unstable. also ALWAYS use a tripod!


Lighting: Make sure to remember, to position lighting differently, and to make sure that if part of your picture is dark, have a filler flash to fill in the rest of the darkness, or carry along with you a small little mirror, so you can reflect the light in different places.


Composition: Make sure to compose a lot of different kinds of shots, so you`ll have a very nice variety of photos, and not the same one all the time.

[TPF Sponsor]

[dxqcanada]

Great idea on the notes ... I think that we all need to make notes ... sometimes we think we know we know.

[Kolander]

Nice school notebook May I give you a piece of advice? Use her favourite matters to teach her the basics of photography -or painting, or Physics, or woodworking... Does she love horses, dolls, cats, flowers, cookies, or whatever? Explain her depth of field, shutter speed, lighting, lens aperture, composition, etc, shooting horses, dolls, cats, flowers, cookies or whatever. She will be deeply excited, learning very quickly.

[thelittlewhimsy]

What a great idea for encouraging your kids to develop hobbies! I'll have to keep this one in mind for my little one

[jedirunner]

What a great idea for encouraging your kids to develop hobbies! I'll have to keep this one in mind for my little one

It's working so far.

The 10 year old is diving more into the photography (she's decided that her stuffed dolphins are our next shoot).

The 6 year old is learning to cook and learning karate (I teach her both).

The 12 year old is doing whatever she can to "earn" a sleep-over with friends. The only thing she ever mentions as a hobby is cake decorating (my mom was a professional decorator and taught me, so I teach the 12 year old -- we've certainly had some fun!).

The 15 year old is for the most part ignoring it. But he already focuses a lot on his talents (music -- he plays the flute for a few years now, and dabbles with piano and guitar -- I've got absolutely no musical talent so he's on his own here).

It certainly is very fun to watch them all pick their own talents and develop them.

Kevin

[jedirunner]

Nice school notebook May I give you a piece of advice? Use her favourite matters to teach her the basics of photography -or painting, or Physics, or woodworking... Does she love horses, dolls, cats, flowers, cookies, or whatever? Explain her depth of field, shutter speed, lighting, lens aperture, composition, etc, shooting horses, dolls, cats, flowers, cookies or whatever. She will be deeply excited, learning very quickly.

That's great advice. IN retrospect, I've been doing most of the selection of subjects. While I've tried to get some variety in there, it's been mostly my choice with her input. She's choosing our next shot, and she mentioned she wants to shoot her dolphin stuffed animals. Should be fun.

Thanks for the reminder there.

Kevin

[chuasam]

Hi Kevin,
I don't agree with the tips but any father daughter time is still awesome nevertheless. Here are my thoughts.

Aperture: Aperture has nothing to do with the lighting. It is Aperture and shutter speed working in tandem that create exposure. Adjust your aperture based on what kind of shutter speed you would like, what kind of depth of field you wish to get and remember that wide open or full stopped down is not always the sharpest point.

ISO: ISO has nothing to do with focussing. It has to do with the amount of signal amplification that the camera chooses to apply to the image. Shoot at as low an ISO as you feel you can get away with. Do not be afraid to use Higher ISO if you wish to freeze motion at lower illumination levels.

Shutter speed: Make sure your shutter speed is appropriate for the shot you want. If you're shooting fast moving subjects and you want to freeze motion, use a short shutter speed. Use a longer shutter speed if you want some motion blur to creep into the picture giving it a sense of movement.


Tripods: Sometimes blurry is fun and emotive. Tripods often limit you unless you're doing plate shots or landscapes or need a shot where the immobility of the camera is paramount. If your subject is moving, tripods won't help anyway.


Lighting: Understand the light first. Appreciate it for what it is. Learn to see it and use it for your picture rather than correcting it and trying to make your shots all come out the same way.

[ahcigar1]

Very nice idea. Will have to remember for my daughter.

[o hey tyler]

Hi Kevin,
I don't agree with the tips but any father daughter time is still awesome nevertheless. Here are my thoughts.

Aperture: Aperture has nothing to do with the lighting. It is Aperture and shutter speed working in tandem that create exposure. Adjust your aperture based on what kind of shutter speed you would like, what kind of depth of field you wish to get and remember that wide open or full stopped down is not always the sharpest point.

ISO: ISO has nothing to do with focussing. It has to do with the amount of signal amplification that the camera chooses to apply to the image. Shoot at as low an ISO as you feel you can get away with. Do not be afraid to use Higher ISO if you wish to freeze motion at lower illumination levels.

Shutter speed: Make sure your shutter speed is appropriate for the shot you want. If you're shooting fast moving subjects and you want to freeze motion, use a short shutter speed. Use a longer shutter speed if you want some motion blur to creep into the picture giving it a sense of movement.


Tripods: Sometimes blurry is fun and emotive. Tripods often limit you unless you're doing plate shots or landscapes or need a shot where the immobility of the camera is paramount. If your subject is moving, tripods won't help anyway.


Lighting: Understand the light first. Appreciate it for what it is. Learn to see it and use it for your picture rather than correcting it and trying to make your shots all come out the same way.

You do realize that the 'tips' are not from Kevin, but from his 10 year old daughter, right?

You can't honestly expect a 10 year old to absorb what you just typed out, and apply it at her current photographic stage...

For what she did know, I thought that was pretty encouraging. She knows that ISO1600 can be a dangerous place for images... Which is a lot more than most 10 year olds would comprehend IMHO.

[jedirunner]

Hi Kevin,
I don't agree with the tips but any father daughter time is still awesome nevertheless. Here are my thoughts.

Aperture: Aperture has nothing to do with the lighting. It is Aperture and shutter speed working in tandem that create exposure. Adjust your aperture based on what kind of shutter speed you would like, what kind of depth of field you wish to get and remember that wide open or full stopped down is not always the sharpest point.

ISO: ISO has nothing to do with focussing. It has to do with the amount of signal amplification that the camera chooses to apply to the image. Shoot at as low an ISO as you feel you can get away with. Do not be afraid to use Higher ISO if you wish to freeze motion at lower illumination levels.

Shutter speed: Make sure your shutter speed is appropriate for the shot you want. If you're shooting fast moving subjects and you want to freeze motion, use a short shutter speed. Use a longer shutter speed if you want some motion blur to creep into the picture giving it a sense of movement.


Tripods: Sometimes blurry is fun and emotive. Tripods often limit you unless you're doing plate shots or landscapes or need a shot where the immobility of the camera is paramount. If your subject is moving, tripods won't help anyway.


Lighting: Understand the light first. Appreciate it for what it is. Learn to see it and use it for your picture rather than correcting it and trying to make your shots all come out the same way.

You do realize that the 'tips' are not from Kevin, but from his 10 year old daughter, right?

You can't honestly expect a 10 year old to absorb what you just typed out, and apply it at her current photographic stage...

For what she did know, I thought that was pretty encouraging. She knows that ISO1600 can be a dangerous place for images... Which is a lot more than most 10 year olds would comprehend IMHO.

Exactly.

Yeah, she's really catching on. And in particular, she has an incredible eye for composition, especially noticing things that *shouldn't* be in the photo. She catches them much more often than I do.

This time, she's choosing the photo topic. We're going to photograph valentine's candy this weekend. Should be a fun project. I can honestly say I don't have a goal for what we're planning on learning. But hey, we're planning on having fun, eating lots of candy, and learning by "experience", if not by plan.

Kevin

[chuasam]

You do realize that the 'tips' are not from Kevin, but from his 10 year old daughter, right?

You can't honestly expect a 10 year old to absorb what you just typed out, and apply it at her current photographic stage...

For what she did know, I thought that was pretty encouraging. She knows that ISO1600 can be a dangerous place for images... Which is a lot more than most 10 year olds would comprehend IMHO.

oh heh! my bad. Well, it is more than a lot of fauxtographers out there know anyway.

[antawnmason]

That is my plan too, I want my kid to have passion on photography. Keeping pictures during picnic and outing is a good start for them.