Photography resources?

[Fillyjonk]

I'm looking for some resources for photography and film making for my 7 year old.

He's really into both, and has said that this year he'd like to learn more about them.

I'm after something very simple and low key, but with enough accurate information to build on later, iykwim. A program, like those "teach your child to draw" program, woudl probably go down very well, but anything considered.

Another problem I have is that he is very into the idea of film making and so I suppose watching films would be the next step-but none of us watch much tv, and I don't know what would be good films to watch with him, from a "learning about films" pov.

He's pretty interested in the techincal side too and I intend to pick up a cheap enlarger and do a bit of film developing with him (I did a lot of this as a teenager so am pretty happy to do this, but any resources here also good!)

I did quite a lot of photography when I was younger but we didn't even own a tv-this film stuff is all a bit uncharted water to me.

We're going to invest in a dSLR. Until very recently I was holding out with an ancient film Nikon, but I think its time to upgrade. What I'd ideally like is something like a Nikkormat or Pentax K1000, ie extremely basic but solid and with excellent results IF you can master all the dials ;-) . Can't find any really basic dSLRs though! Would a d40 be a good alternative, does anyone know? (our budget is non-existent, btw, and we can just about stretch to an ebay d40).

He's well able to concentrate and understand complex stuff IF he is interested, so resources for older kids might well be fine. I think something really heavy and technical would go down less well though.

Any thoughts?

[Marimami]

DD has had her own digital camera since she was 4, but it's a point/shoot one. Our DSLRs are a bit unwieldy for her at 6. She has used them a few times, but they just are a bit too heavy/big for consistent use.

She loves making stop-motion videos and for that, DH mounts one of the DSLRs on the tripod.

We also have a Flip video camera that she uses frequently to make her own videos, and she's worked with me in iMovie helping me edit them.

We haven't formally introduced any photography tips or techniques, though. We've just been letting her do her own thing.

Klutz has two new books out for kids.. one is about Animation and one is about trick videos I think. I haven't seen them in person yet though.

DH and I are both amateur photographers, and I make video tutorials as part of my job so she just has always been surrounded by this kind of stuff.

Holli

[moominmamma]

You could probably find an old K1000 or similar at an independent camera shop that sells used equipment.

Making a pinhole camera is a great way to learn about optics and basic developing. You can just use a sheet of photo paper in the back of your pinhole camera and expose a negative image (since it can be difficult these days to find camera film in alternate formats). Or you can build something that uses 35 mm or 126 cartridge film. There are plans on the internet.

A D40 or similar would be a great camera too, of course. There's something to be said for the ease of digital editing and the ability to quickly and easily share photos and albums. That being said, from a cost and portability standpoint there might be more value in a point-and-shoot for a child, and holding off on the dSLR until you can afford what you really want. We own a D60, and my kids use it a lot around home and have learned about aperture and shutter speed and such from it, but I'd say that 95% of their photography away from home is done with a wee Kodak EasyShare ... because it's a tenth the size and a fraction of the weight. Another advantage with a small point-and-shoot: with software like Adobe Premiere Elements you can use the still camera hooked up to the computer to shoot frames of stop-motion animation sequences, and get into a bit of film-making that way.

On the film front, watching classic films would be a great way to begin to develop an appreciation of the artistic elements of film. We did an informal "history of cinema" survey last year, watching old Charlie Chaplin, Hitchcock, and classics like Casablanca, Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Hope that helps!

Miranda

[tammyw]

My personal opinion would be to give her own point and shoot, but also give her some books on composition (which could easily be found at the library).

These are excellent books on composition and it might be a good start for him, to learn.

http://www.amazon.com/Photographers-...4064244&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Learning-See-C...4064244&sr=8-3

This one teaches about exposure - shutter speed, ISO, aperture, but I feel that for that age, it would be a very challenging read - moreso I would say this would be for you to read and learn and then you could help your kids with it. This is the book most people should start with when they are learning the technical side of photography.
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-...ref=pd_sim_b_6

Another thing - go to the library and browse the books that are just beautiful photography images. Have him look at many different types of photography, styles, etc. He may get inspired by something there and decide to take his camera out to try and recreate some things.

[Fillyjonk]

Thank you all!

Books look good. Will also see what they have at the library, didn't think of that! (not that hopeful-our library is pretty useless but you never know). Suppose they might have something amazing there, never know!

Will esp look out for the understanding exposure book linked to. Not sure how available it is in the UK but will see.

Like the idea of watching old films, I suppose stuff was pretty censored then, thus should be pretty much ok for a 7 year old...(I mean, some of it, we won't be watching The Birds or similar :-) ). At the same time, just like us, their resources were quite constrained and technology wasn't there, so all round I think this will be a good match.

Pinhole camera, good plan, actually I'm just waiting til I next go down to my parents' so I can use their tiny bathroom as a darkroom and do exactly that (all our rooms have big windows and would be a nightmare to black out). I had my own darkroom as a kid so I'm pretty comfortable with this side of it.

Sorry, should have said, he does have his own point and shoot, however I'd like to gently introduce him to stuff like aperture, depth of field, etc, and while obviously point and shoots do have them, on the ones we have (cheap ixuxes from ebay) you can't control these as you can with a dSLR. He's used my elderly Nikon but tbh the cost of film-developing and processing-just gets extortionate. If we had a good community darkroom locally things might be different.

What I ideally want is a dSLR to the same specification as, and preferably rock bottom price of, the K1000 or Nikkormat or whatever. But it seems as though entry level dSLRs actually give you less control than the more expensive ones.

Plus I've wanted a dSLR for years, so this is kind of my excuse. Homeschooling expense.

I feel kind of daft asking for this for a 7 yo, I'm all about "let them play" but this seems to be an increasingly big thing for him. And aside from music, I'm really rubbish about doing arty and cultural things with them (we adults like science and the kids seem to be following) so this kind of salves my conscience a bit.

ETA oh the understanding exposure book is available cheaply in the UK, if that helps anyone else.

[tammyw]

I started out with a d40 years ago and in all honesty, I did find the lack of control to be very limiting. However, better cameras are much more expensive, especially when you factor in the lenses, etc.

If you can find a used (but working) dslr, I'd probably go with something a step above a D40 if you can (also look at Canon - I eventually switched to Canon). Maybe you could both share the camera and therefore the cost isn't so great.

An excellent lens to start with that is reasonably priced is a 50mm 1.8 - usually you can get that, even brand new, for around $100 for either Nikon or Canon. But you MUST make sure that the lens is compatible with the body because there are some lenses that are not (e.g. when I had a d40, the 50mm 1.8 wasn't compatible - it has to do with the auto focus and such).

[Fillyjonk]

ack see the control is all

tbh this is going to be MY camera, but ds will be allowed to use it, so I need something he can grow with a little. Cost still prohibitive, even if we share it! (sadly, he doesn't earn money ;-) )

So what would you recommend as a better camera? What is the cheapest I can get away with if I want a decent level of control?

[tammyw]

Unfortunately I'm not all that familiar with the entry level dSLRs anymore, but I think it has been said that the entry level canons are better than the entry level nikons, while the nikons are often known to be more user friendly.

If you can find a good used Nikon D300 or D90, that would probably be a great one for you to start with. I really am not all that familiar with what's currently out there though.

[Fillyjonk]

thanks for recommendations

In the end I got a secondhand d40 for a good price off ebay. its not my ideal camera, in particular to get manual control seems pretty tricky, but it will get us started and we can save up for a good one. Ds loves it, so perhaps long term it will become his.

[zebra15]

Im late the discussion again. DS is 10 and into photography (Im clueless). What he's done so far is educate himself via youtube. DS also researches what he needs via the internet.
We have a flip videocamera and a regular digital camera. He seems hooked on stop motion.
He would love to take a class but I have yet to find one appropriate for a 10 yr old.

[lula]

I am very interested in this subject! My husband and I are filmmakers. My husband has been passionate about filmmaking since he was very young. I am expanding this into a keen interest in still photography and it is SO FUN!

My daughter, by default and a decent show of interest, is pretty involved in several aspects of our work. I am really interested to see what other people are doing with their children. At the moment I have my daughter doing "movie lessons" once or twice a week. It is pretty simple, she watches a movie that I think has something of note and we discuss it for a few minutes. Several months out of the year I pick a theme. The movies range from classics that I think are part of the film canon to movies that are culturally notable or just plain fun. I don't think that just because a film is a classic one can count on it being edited in a suitable manner, but that is really just a personal opinion for my situation.

We also go to the theater as often as I think something is of interest for her and we try to see special showings of movies when available.

We listen to a lot of movie soundtracks simply because my husband has them laying around.

I have books like this laying around. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193...TNNTB99GWM69JZ

But I also have books on more advanced filmmaking in case she has questions.

In general I hope that she just simply does it, takes shots, takes pictures, dabbles in editing, in story in the creative process and comes out with an understand of what sort of future such a field can hold for her if she wants it but if she wants to something else then her knowledge will always make her a happier film watcher or photo looker atter.

I also have been making sure that my daughter understands film vernacular and basic job descriptions, processes etc etc. She has her own still camera and full access to a video camera. In general her interest is not as much in the actual production so I haven't pushed anything on her.

I would love to hear about other kids and their interests or what interests them because I am always looking for new ways to interest my daughter.

Here is a great link of some stop motion done by kids.
http://chrisfenwick.com/home/2010/8/...-surprise.html

I am pretty sure they used something really simple to do this. I am not sure a kid would need lessons. (and everything potentially needed for information should be easily available online to use this program)
http://www.boinx.com/istopmotion/overview/