Teaching an 8 year old!

KenMasonphotography · 12-15-2012, 06:11 AM

I'm teaching my 8 year old grandson some photography basics today. I got him a WG2 for Christmas and gave it to him yesterday since he'll be in Texas for the holidays. Any ideas on where to start and what to stay away from?

**twilhelm** · 12-15-2012, 06:13 AM

Composition. He really needs nothing else at this point.
Great gift!

KenMasonphotography · 12-15-2012, 06:20 AM

Originally posted by twilhelm

Composition. He really needs nothing else at this point.
Great gift!

Thanks, great idea we'll be outside, weather permitting so subjects are limitless.

panoguy · 12-15-2012, 06:52 AM

My 6 year old gets to play with the W90 (mainly because it is nigh indestructible), and just pointing it at things and seeing the images it makes (both on the LCD and on the computer later) is where he's at. I think an 8 year old could also get into the macro functions...

KenMasonphotography · 12-15-2012, 10:05 AM

I think so to. And your right about the value of an unbreakable camera that y he got the WG-2!! And he can see good results right away.

**Miguel** · 12-15-2012, 12:32 PM

i went through something similar with both my kids. It's a lot of fun. Just help him quickly learn how the basic camera functions work and then let him go to town taking pictures without any intervention. You may just be surprised, and certainly amused by what catches his fancy.

M

SpecialK · 12-15-2012, 03:19 PM

Yep, composition first. The rest will follow.

Paleo Pete · 12-16-2012, 06:43 AM

Where to start, composition is good, and start working gradually on exposure. Let him gte the inevitable bad exposures then explain why, that may encourage some learning in the exposure department. Be patient.

What to stay away from - Alligators, snakes, pit bulls, hornets, pesky little girls...lol oh and freeways...

OK seriously, no telling what a kid will find interesting as photo subjects, let him find his own way and then when you see a general trend, you can figure out ways to get him into situations those subjects will be easily available.

Maybe also some suggestions for around the house still life shots, fun ideas for creative lighting, time lapse shots, no telling what will spark an interest. The main problem is going to be teaching a kid and keeping it fun and interesting. I had the same issues trying to teach guitar with kids in the 6-10 age range. It's not easy to make it fun and still encourage practice at the same time...

Anyway if you can figure out how to keep it fun and interesting, he just might stay with it.

A serious note about what to avoid though, any dangerous situations. I'll get way too close to alligators sometimes, dangerous heights, things like that but I'm way older than 8. Try to avoid the "whatever it takes to get the shot" idea until much later.

KenMasonphotography · 12-16-2012, 03:28 PM - **1 Like**

Thanks everyone, he's gone back to his mothers house but he made sure he did'nt forget anything i gave him, tabletop tripod, lens cleaning kit, nice Lowpro case, screen protectors, sd cards, and a couple of back issues of Popular Photography! Everyone's advice I really appreciate, and I think there's a new shooter in town.
Ken Mason

DaveHolmes · 12-16-2012, 06:08 PM

I got my 8 year old a *istDS (with a couple FA zooms & I let him use my FA's 50 & 28 on occasion) a while back and he loves it... Rather than trying to we just go out and shoot and if he asks a question I try to answer it in as much detail as he can absorb at that time (the 8 year old attention span can be fickle)... He often comes back later with more questions; and they keep coming til he gets it

Composition is a tricky thing to teach an 8 year old as they have a totally different perspective on 'everything'... That said we recently discussed the rule of thirds when he asked about the grid on my K5 in liveview... No more questions as yet...

Sometimes we play ABC (each of us must take 26 images that represent a letter of the alphabet) but he cheats... but games are fun...

He started in auto (with me setting the ISO) but now tends to use either Av or more recently Tv and sets his own ISO depending on the light (often asking 'where are you at?'...
He asked 'how to make the other stuff blurry?' a month or so back so I explained the relationship between aperture and DoF as best I could... Now he constantly wants my FA50 on his camera... He's getting it slowly and thinks 'bokeh' is a funny word...

He struggles with flash but likes to have the YN460 I got his mum (for her fuji-HS10) attached to the DS (even though it's rarely turned on)... Makes him feel like a pro I guess...

Best thing you can do is take the kid somewhere with interesting things to take pictures of and let him get on with it!

He does his PP on Picasa with his grandad (who's really good with computers but pretty much housebound through ill-health... Computers is 'their thing' shooting is ours) and overdoes it a fair bit but as he has a totally different view on the world to most photographers I know he comes out with some pretty interesting shots...

12-15-2012, 06:11 AM	#1
KenMasonphotography New Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Annapolis Md Posts: 23	Teaching an 8 year old! I'm teaching my 8 year old grandson some photography basics today. I got him a WG2 for Christmas and gave it to him yesterday since he'll be in Texas for the holidays. Any ideas on where to start and what to stay away from?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Teaching my 8 year old grandson photography	KenMasonphotography	Welcomes and Introductions	5	12-15-2012 04:45 PM
Definition of a Pentaxian... by an 8 year old	Unsinkable II	General Talk	6	09-22-2012 12:22 PM
Good beginners DSLR for an 8 year old...	DaveHolmes	Troubleshooting and Beginner Help	25	04-18-2012 02:38 PM
From the hands of an 11 year old	cwhans	Post Your Photos!	12	10-14-2008 11:06 AM
Teaching an old dog new tricks	dave kitson	Post Your Photos!	3	10-31-2007 07:17 AM

12-15-2012, 06:13 AM	#2
twilhelm Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Florida Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,369	Composition. He really needs nothing else at this point. Great gift!

12-15-2012, 06:20 AM	#3
KenMasonphotography New Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Annapolis Md Posts: 23 Original Poster	Originally posted by twilhelm Composition. He really needs nothing else at this point. Great gift! Thanks, great idea we'll be outside, weather permitting so subjects are limitless.

12-15-2012, 06:52 AM	#4
panoguy Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Washington, D.C. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,327	My 6 year old gets to play with the W90 (mainly because it is nigh indestructible), and just pointing it at things and seeing the images it makes (both on the LCD and on the computer later) is where he's at. I think an 8 year old could also get into the macro functions...

12-15-2012, 10:05 AM	#5
KenMasonphotography New Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Annapolis Md Posts: 23 Original Poster	I think so to. And your right about the value of an unbreakable camera that y he got the WG-2!! And he can see good results right away.

12-15-2012, 12:32 PM	#6
Miguel Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Near Seattle Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,743	i went through something similar with both my kids. It's a lot of fun. Just help him quickly learn how the basic camera functions work and then let him go to town taking pictures without any intervention. You may just be surprised, and certainly amused by what catches his fancy. M

12-15-2012, 03:19 PM	#7
SpecialK Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: So California Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,481	Yep, composition first. The rest will follow.

12-16-2012, 06:43 AM	#8
Paleo Pete Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,880	Where to start, composition is good, and start working gradually on exposure. Let him gte the inevitable bad exposures then explain why, that may encourage some learning in the exposure department. Be patient. What to stay away from - Alligators, snakes, pit bulls, hornets, pesky little girls...lol oh and freeways... OK seriously, no telling what a kid will find interesting as photo subjects, let him find his own way and then when you see a general trend, you can figure out ways to get him into situations those subjects will be easily available. Maybe also some suggestions for around the house still life shots, fun ideas for creative lighting, time lapse shots, no telling what will spark an interest. The main problem is going to be teaching a kid and keeping it fun and interesting. I had the same issues trying to teach guitar with kids in the 6-10 age range. It's not easy to make it fun and still encourage practice at the same time... Anyway if you can figure out how to keep it fun and interesting, he just might stay with it. A serious note about what to avoid though, any dangerous situations. I'll get way too close to alligators sometimes, dangerous heights, things like that but I'm way older than 8. Try to avoid the "whatever it takes to get the shot" idea until much later.

12-16-2012, 03:28 PM - 1 Like	#9
KenMasonphotography New Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Annapolis Md Posts: 23 Original Poster	Thanks everyone, he's gone back to his mothers house but he made sure he did'nt forget anything i gave him, tabletop tripod, lens cleaning kit, nice Lowpro case, screen protectors, sd cards, and a couple of back issues of Popular Photography! Everyone's advice I really appreciate, and I think there's a new shooter in town. Ken Mason

12-16-2012, 06:08 PM	#10
DaveHolmes Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 1,501	I got my 8 year old a *istDS (with a couple FA zooms & I let him use my FA's 50 & 28 on occasion) a while back and he loves it... Rather than trying to we just go out and shoot and if he asks a question I try to answer it in as much detail as he can absorb at that time (the 8 year old attention span can be fickle)... He often comes back later with more questions; and they keep coming til he gets it Composition is a tricky thing to teach an 8 year old as they have a totally different perspective on 'everything'... That said we recently discussed the rule of thirds when he asked about the grid on my K5 in liveview... No more questions as yet... Sometimes we play ABC (each of us must take 26 images that represent a letter of the alphabet) but he cheats... but games are fun... He started in auto (with me setting the ISO) but now tends to use either Av or more recently Tv and sets his own ISO depending on the light (often asking 'where are you at?'... He asked 'how to make the other stuff blurry?' a month or so back so I explained the relationship between aperture and DoF as best I could... Now he constantly wants my FA50 on his camera... He's getting it slowly and thinks 'bokeh' is a funny word... He struggles with flash but likes to have the YN460 I got his mum (for her fuji-HS10) attached to the DS (even though it's rarely turned on)... Makes him feel like a pro I guess... Best thing you can do is take the kid somewhere with interesting things to take pictures of and let him get on with it! He does his PP on Picasa with his grandad (who's really good with computers but pretty much housebound through ill-health... Computers is 'their thing' shooting is ours) and overdoes it a fair bit but as he has a totally different view on the world to most photographers I know he comes out with some pretty interesting shots...