1. January - February 201470 January - February 201470
Pursuits and Passions

2. Photography is a good hobby for a child
to pursue — it is not as expensive as
people believe, it does not create a mess
and photography as a career option can be
lucrative!
As PeeVee, a professional photographer
and co-founder of Thalam, an art
foundation in Bangalore states,
“Photography is a great hobby for
anyone, irrespective of age. Children pick
up their cameras, and their skill of creative
visualisation evolves with each image they
shoot. They learn to make interesting
images faster, without any hesitation and
fear of criticism. If they start early, they
will also have a great collection of their
lifetime memories, all documented
for posterity.”
Photography is a wonderful medium
through which children can express their
thoughts and feelings and share their
experiences. Just like any other art form,
it hones their creative skill.
Rohan Dhawan, a specialist at the Nikon
School of Photography, Gurgaon, explains
how photography can enhance creativity:
“When you get into photography, there
are a few things that happen — you make
decisions as to what to include and what
not to include in a picture. It helps you see
things that you have seen before —
everyday, familiar objects — in a new light,
differently and with a critical eye.
You explore different angles. In my
experience, photography brings out the
latent creativity in children and you will be
amazed at the kind of images they click!”
And of course, this is one more opportunity
for the parent to be involved in and share
an interest with their child — shooting
images and documenting memories of time
spent together!
Photography can draw a child away
from TV and video games to move
outside the home, explore and
discover new things.
– Rohan Dhawan
Does age matter?
Parents often wonder as to what the right age is
to introduce their child to photography, but the
truth is, there is no particular age! One of the main
worries parents with young children have is that
the child will not be able to handle a camera in
safe manner; this should not be a worry! You can
find cameras in the market for children as young as
six and below, such as the Fisher Price Kid-Tough
Digital Camera and Diego Npower Flash Jr.
Rugged Digital Camera. Kunjan Shah, a 17-year
old amateur photographer from Mumbai started
off in this way; his parents bought him some basic
equipment when he was young and then kept
upgrading his equipment as he grew older and
as his passion grew.
“In my experience, even 5-year-olds can pick up
cameras and just shoot. I conducted a workshop for
children and I had participants who were five and
six years old. A lot of even younger children are
playing with their parents’ cellphones these days
and are familiar with gadgetry. The camera is easy
for them to become familiar with,” points
out Dhawan.
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3. January - February 201472
“Each time you go out, encourage your
child to take his camera along and document
all that he sees. He can then come back and
use the software that is available today to
edit his images, and even transform them.
Tinkering with photos can be an interesting,
fun and creative task for children who are
around 10-12 years old. Even cameras today
come with a variety of features that can
be fun for kids. There is a lot of sharing
happening through smartphones and social
networking sites — this builds their
confidence and interest as they meet with
approbation and gain recognition.”
– Rohan Dhawan
Getting your child interested in photography:
some tips
The fascination that accompanies the click of a camera is common
amongst all children. On family vacations, outings, field trips with
school, or any other occasion, children are always eager to be in
charge of the camera and take pictures. Interest in photography is
natural and can be encouraged further by a discerning parent.
• Buy a family camera; it does not have to be a professional one,
any digital camera will do.
• Show the child how a camera works, and explain the mechanics.
• Once he is comfortable with using a camera, make up some
fun tasks for him to complete. This is a good tactic to use
with younger children, to sustain their interest by making
photography all about fun and games. For example, set them
challenges — “How many black objects can you capture pictures
of?” or, “We are going to the park. How many different coloured
flowers can you click?”
• Get his friends involved. If he has friends interested in
photography, create team challenges.
• At family functions and community gatherings, put your child in
charge of photographing the event — this will go a long way in
encouraging and motivating him, especially when he is publicly
appreciated for his fine work.
• Use your child’s photographs to make greeting cards, calendars,
as gifts to loved ones and even in a scrapbook.
• Encourage your child to share his photos on photography
websites such as Pinterest and Photobucket, where he will meet
other like-minded people and also benefit from their criticism
and advice.
• Enter his photos in competitions.
• And finally, enroll him in photography workshops — these
are very important, and necessary if he wants to learn the
techniques and nuances of photography, especially if the
parents themselves are novices in this art form.
Kavita Jaisingh, Mumbai, did all of the above when her now 15-year
old son evinced an interest in photography. She and her husband
also started reading up on the skill themselves so they could
help him out. “We buy a lot of books for him as well — not only
on photography, but of photographs as well. These can be very
inspirational,” she says. “Enrolling children for photography courses
and workshops is also very beneficial. “They learn so much about
the finer details of photography during these courses and their
skills improve. This boosts their confidence and further sustains
their interest.”
But what if the parent does not know much about photography?
How will he encourage his child and guide him? “It is not necessary
for the parent to be involved in this hobby by shooting images as well
— it is enough if you show an interest in your child’s work. Observe
and critique their photos,” instructs PeeVee. Dhawan adds, “This is
why you should send them for photography courses or workshops.
Or you can choose to educate yourself — there are enough video
tutorials online. Even if you do not have the time or inclination to do
this, you can at least spare time to browse through some photography
magazines or websites to understand the area better.”
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4. Videography is theprocess of making videofilms. Almost all camerashave a video functionthat helps recordvideos. Videographycan be an extension ofphotography — children will
enjoy creating home videos
and small movies to beginwith, and developing skillin various software suchas iMovie or WindowsMovieMaker. Althoughvideography takes timeto learn, it can be fun forchildren to dabble in.
Recommended Equipment
“The camera is just a tool. Photographers
are judged on the quality and creativity
of the images they create. So, the
equipment is the last thing one
should bother about when it comes
to photography. You don’t have to
own the most expensive or advanced
camera to make the best images.” – PeeVee
Contrary to popular belief, it is possible
to source low-cost equipment to feed this
habit. Here is a list of some cameras to
explore for the different age groups, along
with indicative prices:
• For children below the age of 6:
Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera
and Diego Npower Flash Jr. Rugged
Digital Camera. Cost: INR 2498
• For children between 5-8 years old:
VTech KidiZoom or Nikon Coolpix S31.
Cost: INR 6619
• For children between 8-10 years:
Pentax WG-10 or Fujifilm Fujifilm
Finepix XP60 at INR 11,241; Sony
Cyber-shot DSC-TF1 at INR 9992
• For preteens:
Canon PowerShot A1400 (INR 5620);
Nikon Coolpix S01 (INR 6245);
Olympus SZ-15 (INR 12,490); or
Canon Powershot SX160 IS (INR 8118)
• For teenagers:
Nikon 1 S1 (incl. 11-27mm zoom)
at INR 27,852; Olympus E-PM2
(incl. 14-42mm zoom) at INR 26,478;
or Canon EOS Rebel SL1
(incl. 18-55mm zoom) at INR 46,837
A tripod can be used when children have
reached an advanced stage of photography,
as it helps to focus and increase the
sharpness of a picture.
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5. January - February 201474
Resources:
Photography workshops/courses
• Thalam, Bangalore (www.thalam.in): Full-day photography course, where
children are taught the theory and given hands-on practical lessons in the
following areas: Know your camera, Visualizing ideas, Mini photo walk,
Basic photo editing, Do it yourself ideas and Photo review
• Toehold, Bangalore (www.toehold.in): A travel and photography company
that organises photography camps, trips and classes for children above the
age of five
• Nikon School of Photography, Gurgaon (www.nikonschool.in): Basic, amateur and
advanced courses in photography
• Udaan, Mumbai (www.udaan.org.in): Year-long courses, weekend courses
and workshops for students
• Kshitij, Mumbai (www.kshitijworld.com): Photography courses for children
above the age of six
Websites and online resources
• www.udemy.com/photography-for-kids-online-course: A project-based online course
that is ideal for children who want to learn photography in a fun way, with weekly
projects to practise their skills
• www.deviantART.com: A platform for any artist to exhibit and discuss his works
(including photography) with an online community
• www.flickr.com: An image- and video- hosting website, for users to share and
embed personal photographs with an online community
• www.photobucket.com: An image- and video- hosting website and online community
dedicated to preserving and sharing the entire photo and video lifecycle
• www.pinterest.com: A pin board-style photo-sharing website that allows users to
create and manage theme-based image collections. Users can browse other pin
boards for images, “re-pin” images to their own pin boards, or “like” photos
• www.instagram.com: An online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking
service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to
them, and share them on a variety of social networking services, such as Facebook,
Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr
• www.kids-myshot.nationalgeographic.com: A website for kids; photos can be
uploaded and shared, after which rewards and badges are earned as the
photographs get better and better.
Books on photography for children:
• The Kids’ Guide to Digital Photography: How to Shoot, Save, Play with Print
Your Digital Photos, by Jenni Bidner
• Photography for Kids!, by Michael Ebert and Sandra Abend
• National Geographic Photography Guide For Kids, by Neil L. Johnson
• Picture This: Fun Photography and Crafts (Kids Can Do It), by Debra Friedman
• Photography for Kids!: A Fun Guide to Digital Photography, by Michael Ebert
• Click Click Click!: Photography for Children, by George Sullivan
Be sure to check out National Geographic’s special “Photo Issue”, October 2013
Colleges that offer courses in photography
• Tolani College of Arts Science, Adipur
• Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi
• A.J. Kidwai Mass Communication Research Center, Delhi
• Center for Research in Art of Film Television (CRAFT), Delhi
• Asian Academy of Film and Television, Noida
• New York Film Academy, Greater Noida
• Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur
• Osmania University, Hyderabad
• Netaji Subhash Open University, Kolkata
• The Indian Institute of Digital Art and Animation, Kolkata
- Sakshi Bathija
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Pursuits and Passions