Annie has always been intrigued by my camera. I’m sure that’s because it’s constantly around, pointed at her. But, once she started holding up random toys to her face and saying, “cheeeeeeeeese,” I knew the kid was a natural. I firmly believe that the reason both of my daughters always look relaxed and natural in front of the camera is because I always, always had a camera pointed at them. But now that Annie is older, I think letting her get behind the camera is going to be the key to keeping her comfortable in front of it. 

We gave Annie a camera for Christmas, and it’s one of her favorite toys. She always runs to get it whenever she sees me with my camera.

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She also has no shortage of willing subjects:

cheese, uncle kyle

Besides letting her snap at will, we have started playing games with our cameras. I’ll ask her to find something pink, or blue, or green, and then we’ll take pictures of whatever item she finds. Or I’ll be more specific and say, “let’s find shoes!”

annie shoe

As she gets older, and if she still has an interest, I’ll teach her the basics of photography – light, composition, and perspective. It’s been very fun for me to see how a two year old approaches taking a picture of something. The angles she comes in at, how close she’ll get to the subject – it’s definitely made me re-think some of the ways I take pictures. The teacher is becoming the student! For now, though, I just try to make it a fun game. I want her to, at the very least, think photography is fun, so that she’s not annoyed by mommy’s camera.

For those of you with older kids, are they into photography? How do you encourage them? There are some great tips here for introducing your kids to photography, and here are some scavenger hunt ideas. What works for you?