Street shooting with a 4-year old

Iron Flatline · Nov 13, 2008

I have three young sons, all of whom are interested in photography to some degree. I took my four-year old (the middle one) out for a day of shooting over the weekend, and w had a lot of fun. I grabbed my fancy Leica M8 with a 35mm 'Lux, and gave him my trusty Canon G9. I like "Street Photography" in the sense that I try to capture the feeling of what is going on around me emotionally. But some people get all weird and tense about shooting strangers, so I thought I'd teach him not to be shy early on.

Well, it was cold, so we decided to ride the S-Bahn here in here Berlin.

Check these out:

The first image he framed really well. It could be (strongly!) argued that his shot might have been better if I had turned his flash off for him... and that it was better without the sweeper guy in the shot...

The next two shots we both decided to photograph a man reading a paper:

The next series is phenomenal in my mind. We rode the S-Bahn to the main train station, and I showed him all the ICE high-speed trains going to othe major cities. I explained to him that these people were going far away, just like taking a plane. I may have had the patience to wait for a better facial expression from my subjects, but he caught the mood of the place better by including the kissing couple saying good-bye. Note his reflection in my shot:

Here's a pic he took of me, followed by one I took of him. I was trying to teach him the cool-and-detached look all us artsy photographers use. Note that he wanted a scarf just like Papa, so I tied a Khmer headscarf that I brought back from Cambodia around his neck.

More "mutual admiration" shots:

What are other people doing with their kids in terms of teaching them photography?

Battou · Nov 13, 2008

Iron Flatline said:
What are other people doing with their kids in terms of teaching them photography?

I dunnot have any yet but I have allowed my neice (9) to play with my AE-1 on a few occations, but she has not seemed to feel the need to take the shot.

On the other hand I allowed one of my other neises (7) to use my C-743, I'll have to look and see if I can find the shots she took.

When I do have a child old enough I fully intend to either give them my (or buy them their own) AE-1 and will prolly do much the same.

Chris of Arabia · Nov 13, 2008

Another little smile put on my face for the morning. Thanks

Battou · Nov 13, 2008

Battou said:
On the other hand I allowed one of my other neises (7) to use my C-743, I'll have to look and see if I can find the shots she took.

Ahah I do still have it there are more but....

That would have turned out way better if I had not left the flash off. Also I don't know how the exposure compensation got to -1.00 but that is what the exif tells me.

Sw1tchFX · Nov 13, 2008

That's adorable

usayit · Nov 13, 2008

As always.... :thumbup:

Love them... your son is developing his skills quite nicely. I hope to spark the same interest in my son when he's older.

The last one is SOOOOoooo adorable.

Big Mike · Nov 13, 2008

That's Awesome...I can't wait to take my son out shooting with me....I'll have a while to wait, he's only 4 weeks old today.

I think we talked about them before, but have you seen the digital cameras made for young kids? I'll be getting my son one of these before long.

pm63 · Nov 13, 2008

It's nice to see a father and son trip, different generations taking on the same subjects and their interpretations of them. Thanks for posting this. Your son has a good eye for opportunities, and I love the mood of your ones.

A question: have you ever been confronted by someone you have been taking a candid of? What have you done/would you do in such a situation?

Harmony · Nov 13, 2008

That was amazingly cute. Thanks for putting a smile on my face!

pm63: When I was in our local Chinese supermarket, I was taking a picture of one of the aisles and the owner of the store came out and told me to leave. As that roll of film is still in my camera, I don't know whether I caught him coming up to me with his hand up and that angry expression on his face... but I hope! As for what I did: "Sorry." Then my dad and I went and bought a drink from there, as if to make it up to him. But I never, under any circumstances, delete the photo or offer my film to the people unhappy about it.

Puscas · Nov 13, 2008

great! That last one is the best!

pascal

DianaO · Nov 13, 2008

Very nice, my daughter (6) has taken the P&S quite a bit and really trys to mimick me. This coming summer I intend to do what you did with your son, and see what she can come up with. She has entered some of her P&S photos in the county fair for Cloverbuds and actually won Judges Choice.

clbowie · Nov 13, 2008

You have convinced me to be patient and let the oldest tag along ( he's 6 1/2 ) ... he shows an interest in taking pictures and maybe this is something that he will really enjoy given the chance. Thank you!

The shots were nice. Kinda a "pull at your heartstrings" story What's better than a child wanting to be just like their mom/dad?
:thumbup:

Iron Flatline · Nov 14, 2008

pm63 said:
A question: have you ever been confronted by someone you have been taking a candid of? What have you done/would you do in such a situation?

I just don't make a big deal of it. I shoot people all the time, and virtually no one complains. Nobody ever even asks. Keep a slight smile, keep moving, and don't be afraid to make eye contact. If you feel like a thief you'll look like one. If they did wonder what I was doing, I would answer honestly: "My hobby is photography, and I like pictures of people. I thought what you were doing looked cool, I liked the light and the surroundings." And if it went any further, I would tell them I just shoot for myself, no one else will ever see the pictures anyway.

Just keep moving (not fleeing) and be friendly.

bigtwinky · Nov 14, 2008

I wish more parents would spend quality time with their kids doing something fun and interesting.

Iron Flatline · Nov 14, 2008

Thanks all for your kind comments.

Big Mike said:
That's Awesome...I can't wait to take my son out shooting with me....I'll have a while to wait, he's only 4 weeks old today.

I think we talked about them before, but have you seen the digital cameras made for young kids? I'll be getting my son one of these before long.

Big Mike, I shoot a lot with my kids. Keep talking about it, but also let him see the fruits of your effort. One thing I do is shoot all my boys' artwork in their rooms. I've done several series over the years of their toys. We will shoot it together, and then print and frame the images.

Each of the images below is one of a series. We usually set up a little macro shoot, and then take pictures.

The first were all Hot Wheels (this was more for me, an excuse to buy Hot Wheels before my oldest was even playing with stuff like this.)

We also did these larger ones. The kids did not like the shallow DOF. I showed them that it's also possible to shoot with everything in focus. There's no way they understand how to do it, but at least they know it's possible, and are able to see it as creative choice.

Another series that was much loved was a bunch of the Sesame Street characters. They have been re-hung in the littlest one's room. Check how cute this one is:

We also did some of the bigger out-door toys outside:

Next will be some Lego Spaceships.

One thing that matters to kids is PRINT! They want the piece of paper, it's more real to them.

Regarding that Toy Digital Camera: it's a piece of crap. Ours broke after a week, and it wasn't even dropped a lot. And the image quality is worse than a $50 cell phone. But it was fun while it lasted. Here's a "contact sheet" that I made for my oldest, who got it for Hannukah when he was almos four years old.