Photography activities with kids

If you’re like me and in the depths of the summer holidays, searching for more activities to do, I’m here to provide some photography-based activities that you can try out with your child/ren. Of course, you can also do these after school starts, they are year-round activities.

Here is my short and sweet list of activities to try out, all while teaching your children about photography. There are multiple benefits to these activities besides just having something to do. It can make them see the world in a different way, noticing details they have not noticed before. Photography is a good way for them to express themselves and think creatively. They will also feel the satisfaction of completing an activity.

Cyanotype/solar paper prints I know kids love this activity through making these with my own kids and running a cyanotype workshop at my daughter’s nursery several years ago. Cyanotypes were some of the first forms of photography and you can easily find kid-friendly kits at sites like Baker Ross. If you want a higher quality option, I recommend Sunography paper. Lay down a piece of the solar paper in the sun, putting objects, like flowers, on top. You can use a piece of glass or plexiglass to put over the objects, that helps if it is a windy day, so the objects don’t move. Of course, if the glass or plexiglass is sharp in any way, don’t have the child/ren touch it. Leave the paper out in the sun with the objects on top for at least 5 minutes (or more if it's cloudy). The paper should turn into a darker blue before removing the objects. When you remove the objects you should see a print. Wash the cyanotype paper with water in the sink and then let leave to dry. Also wash your hands to get rid of any chemical residue on them. This is a great kid-friendly tutorial with more detail.

Cyanotypes I have made with my daughters in our back garden

Experiencing film photography Buy a single-use film camera and let your kids go out and take photos. Then you can send off the camera to be developed, Boots still has a service that develops film in single-use cameras. Be warned that this can get expensive if you buy and develop more than one camera, but your kids will experience the vintage thrill of waiting to see their photos and then discover what they have taken. As they will have physical copies of their photos, they can then frame them or decorate their room with them. My daughters enjoying displaying their photos by putting a string up like bunting and clipping the photos onto the string using these.

Make a time capsule by using a digital camera or your phone as long as you have a way to print out the photos. You could also use a single-use camera or a polaroid camera. Have your child/ren take photos of every day life, and then collect the photos together in a box, with or without any modern day items you want to include. Modern day items can include a newspaper with the current date or a receipt from a supermarket to show the current cost of food. Put everything in a box and away for someone to find years from now.

A Scavenger Hunt that strengthens your child’s focus and attention to detail. You can create a scavenger hunt by having a list of things for them to find and then taking a photo of each object that is on the list. For instance you can have “find something red” and they can take a photo of an apple. If they’re old enough know their phonics, “take a photo of something that starts with D” and they take a photo of a dog. You can get quite creative with this. Any camera will do, but a phone or digital camera would be best.

Amateur wildlife photography This can be for any child/ren in your life that are interested in nature. You may not live in an area that has a lot of wild animals, but you could get your child/ren to snap a photo of a squirrel, a bird or an insect outside of their house. Technically any camera will do, but I would use a phone or digital camera, especially as they can see their wildlife photography attempts instantly and have many attempts at photographing animals. If you child loves their wildlife snaps, you can turn the photos into a little photo book.

For any of the above activities, if the child/ren are older and/or you want to get more advanced, teach them some rules of photography such as the rule of thirds or leading lines. You can also try black and white photography by using a black and white filter in your phone’s camera, for example. Have fun with it, and I hope some or all of the above can provide entertainment and enjoyment this summer and into the school year.