A Little Life as Seen Through the Lens

May 22, 2008

by Amy Rees

When we think of photographs and our kids, we grin at their adorable smiles (real, fake, experimental lips pursed, all kinds).  We cringe at the mostly lame ways we attempt to get them to turn their best face to the camera.  We tell ourselves that nobody knows about all the times we watch slideshows of their baby pictures on repeat in a sentimental swoon.  We refuse to delete even the blurry pictures of their little mugs (while ruthlessly editing the ones of ourselves -- get that double chin out of here!). 

But we don't often think of photographs by our kids.  Or, we think, not often enough.

It was a savvy set of preschool teachers who showed us how big it is to let these little ones photograph their world.  It is perhaps our best way to adopt their point of view, to see life literally from their perspective.  We struggle to think of things the way they do, to respect their outlook.  Perhaps seeing the view from that outlook is an easy first step.

So, let 'em loose.  Hand over your camera to your preschooler.  No, not in the sandbox perhaps, nor anywhere near puddles or pools.  But give it a whirl.  Let them click.  See what they see -- and then listen to what they say about it.  It's a fantastic way to pass the interminable waiting room visits with little ones (Point and Shoot for the Preschool Set).

Our favorite live-action capturer is the I-coulda-had-a-V8 simple Flip video camera .  (Even just the basic model shown there makes us swoon; the Ultra is also, well, ultra cool.)  The world's simplest and best camera.  Several of us at the Savvy Source went from almost no videos after first steps were taken to having a library chock full of 40 little snippets in our first month of Flip ownership. 

And the best choice we know for a camera absolutely just for kids is the fantastic VTech Kidizoom digital camera.  It's probably just as easy to operate as the Flip, but we can't get it out of our little ones' hands to double-check!  They love these cameras dearly.

So put one in your bag, hand it to your preschooler and start rolling! 

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