An estimated 14 trillion photos were taken in 2017.
Presumably, that number has only increased since then! That’s a lot of snaps being taken on the daily.
It’s unsurprising though. Look around you. No matter where you are in the world, people are taking photos left, right and center of pretty much anything they can see!
And you can’t blame them. Taking an awesome picture is a fantastic reminder of a particular event, occasion or place. You can look back on it for years.
Indeed, everyone loves taking pictures. It doesn’t matter how old you are. Young or old, put a camera in someone’s hand and they’ll be snapping away before you know it.
That’s especially true of kids. In today’s world, children are brought up having their photo taken. It’s natural that they want to join in and take their own.
It turns out that photography for kids has a host of other benefits too.
Keep reading to learn exactly why you should get your children involved in photography right now!
6 Reasons Photography for Kids is a Great Idea
Kids are natural photographers. They see the world in a novel way and they’re often fascinated by technology. Putting a camera in their hands just makes sense! Here are some of the major benefits of them getting started with photography.
1. Valuable (and Transferrable) Skillset
Taking photography is a skill.
It demands a good artistic eye, technical abilities with the camera, and an observant approach to life. It requires decision-making skills too, as well as a sensitive eye for detail.
Photography is an art. And art is a known positive activity for children to pick up. It encourages focus, is related to academic achievement, and increases self-confidence.
Like any skill, it takes practice to master. Kids are primed and ready for learning. They brains are growing at such a rate, and are so immensely plastic, that they can learn exponentially faster than adults.
Get them started on anything early on, and they’ll have it mastered in no time!
2. A Head Start in a Visual World
Photos are a major part of modern life.
Think back to the statistic at the start of this piece. Trillions of photos are taken every year. Social media and online content are already dominated by photography.
It’s easy to imagine how captivating visual images are only going to become more intrinsic to our daily lives. The more skilled the photographer, the more likely they are to succeed on such platforms.
Business, marketing, and all manner of other industries will rely on visual imagery in the future. Think how the rising importance of IT skills is being met by teaching kids to code. In the same way, having a camera may give them a head start in the working world when they’re older.
3. Creative Outlet
Kids are little creators.
More often than not, they love to draw, paint, color, glue and just generally make things, whenever they can. Photography is another means of creative expression to be encouraged.
No matter the style of photography, from landscape shots and portraits to drones for kids, they’ll love the ability to experiment with a new form of art.
Likewise, creativity is just generally a trait that should be encouraged. We could all do with being a little more creative! It isn’t just about art. Creativity is essential throughout life- in thinking outside the box, problem-solving, idea-generation and so on.
Encouraging creativity early in life is essential to future success.
4. Improve Focus
Children are little bundles of energy.
Keeping them occupied and out of trouble can feel like an endless battle.
Providing a camera is a brilliant way to not only have something fun to do (without much adult support) but also to encourage greater awareness and focus on their environment.
On family outings and vacations, encourage the kid to take photos of what they see. Challenge them to only take a select number of pictures. Doing this will help them engage with what you’re doing as a family, rather than running around causing havoc!
5. Natural Photographers & Lasting Reminders
As adults, we’re held captive by the weight of past experience.
Our preconceptions, preconceived notions, biases and so on, all mean we see the world through a particular lens (pardon the camera-related pun). When it comes to taking a photo, we’re somewhat restricted by how we think a photo should be taken.
Kids don’t have that barrier to creativity. Give a kid a camera and see the world through their eyes. It’s a beautiful thing to see how kids will record their environment. They’re naturally good at embracing what’s going on around them.
Likewise, holding onto the photos they take as a child provides a lasting reminder of who they were as they grow up. A bit like a written diary from your youth, children will get a sense of who they were through the photos they took.
6. Anyone Can Do It
Photography is amazingly accessible.
All kids have talents. But some children can have their confidence knocked when they struggle in particular areas, such as school.
But you don’t need to be good in class to be a great photographer. Learning how to take photos can restore a child’s sense of worth, and give them a new talent to take forward. The creative outlet we talked about may be exactly what they need.
All socio-economic backgrounds, educational levels, genders, identities, ages, and abilities can find solace in a camera.
Time to Take Some Snaps
There you have it: exactly why photography for kids is such a good idea.
Trillions and trillions of photos are taken every year by amateur and professional photographers alike. There seems to be some innate need for us to record our experiences in visual form. People of all ages love it.
That can be especially true of children. Give them a camera and watch them happily snap away for hours! Nicely, doing just that has all manner of other benefits too.
Hopefully, this piece has highlighted the main incentives for getting kids started with photography as soon as possible.
Like this piece? Looking to teach your kids other skills too? Click here for all of our education-related pieces.
