Photography for Teenagers
By Shelton Muller
Tired of your teenagers sitting in front of screen? Why not put them behind a viewfinder? Photography is a perfect hobby for your children and teenagers. Let’s examine why…
Computer games have brought young people out from under the sun and away from the real life into a digitised realm of strategies and adventures. It’s fun, but it isn’t real.
Photography is the very antithesis of this un-reality, encouraging young people to see their real life and their surroundings and to look for opportunities to create from them. Photography enables young people to appreciate and experience much more within their daily life. It is a productive and artistic process that allows young minds the outlet of personal expression. If for no other reason than this, it is perhaps an ideal hobby for parents to recommend and children and teenagers to adopt. Further, it is the perfect hobby for parents and their children to enjoy together.
In this we are not suggesting that you simply hand your teenager a cameraphone and be done. What we are talking about is a camera – something that allows for creative control and expansion. Even many mid range digital compact cameras have zoom lenses and exposure overrides. Cameraphones still do not provide the image quality that actual cameras have either, and even when they do they will still not be the tool for the trade. Phones are phones, and cameras are cameras. The cameras in phones are intended for fun snapshots that are quickly taken and just as quickly forgotten. Creative images require more capability from the camera in terms of exposure options, lens quality and focal length.
Film cameras are not to be ruled out either. With digital SLR cameras becoming more accessible, the price of film based SLRs has dropped dramatically. A couple of hundred dollars can purchase a top brand SLR complete with zoom lens these days and provide your teenager with all the options needed for serious creative photography.
Even younger children can enjoy photography at a creative level. The world is a different place when you are only a metre tall. Single use cameras are ideal for children, as are cheaper digital compacts. Photography is an ideal art form to introduce to children, teaching them to see, to create and to appreciate the world around them from an early age.
Is it too hard?
One of the apprehensions many have with taking up photography is the level of understanding needed to do it well. For many, the idea of twiddling knobs ands buttons is too much for them and photography has always had that element of fear attached to it.
Every hobby has a creative and technical side. That is the attraction and it is certainly no more difficult than many of the strategy games young people play on computers and game consoles. Creative pursuits are about challenge and learning. However, let us also say that photography is by no means as challenging on the technical front as it used to be. Technology has taken care of that. The creative side of photography is still what it has always been, and therein is the satisfaction. The added benefits are also seen in family interaction, especially when parents are interested in photography also. If that is the case with you, pass on your hobby and all that is has brought to your life on to your children so that they can learn to see the world for themselves.
Shelton Muller is the editor of this Photo Blog. He can be contacted via his website at www.photographybyshelton.com
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May 15th, 2007
Again thanks for this information, I will pass it onto my children and grandchildren and get them into the sunlight regards Bryan