Using photography during the summertime is a wonderful way to get your children outside - and to encourage them to see the world in a new way.
If you are new to photography, you may want to start with some fun photography for kids ideas. Otherwise, here are some fun and unique projects for you to try with your kids!
Ball of Light: Learn How to "Paint" Spheres of Light Into Your Images
Click here for an amazing gallery of examples from photographer Denis Smith. Don't you love them? I think this would be such a fun project to try!
You'll need a tripod, and a camera that can keep its shutter open for about 10 minutes, if possible. If you aren't sure how long your camera can keep its shutter open, most newer DSLR cameras have a 'candlelight' or 'night scene' setting you can play with. Denis Smith's trademark balls of light are created with LED lights. You can find inexpensive lighting on Amazon, or you can try a different medium such as glow sticks! In short, what you'll be doing is tying them to a string and swinging them around and around while the camera shutter is open. Although Denis has now removed his FAQ page, there is a great tutorial linked below, from 500px.
If you'd like to see Denis in action, you can see him in this video. The ball of light creation portion of the video begins about 6 minutes in. If your children are older, they may be encouraged by his story in the first part of the video, but be aware that he talks about his struggle with alcohol and depression (then, how photography changed his life), so the full video may not be suitable for younger kids.
Create a Calendar
Select photos from throughout the year and get ahead of your holiday gift giving! This is a nice and simple project that works with children who have any level of photography skills. Alternatively, you can let them take their own photos specifically for their calendar. Even young kids will love seeing their work printed as a calendar!
Levitation
Levitation has been a growing area of photography since it became popularized by bloggers about 5 years ago. There are many ways to try this kind of photography, the easiest being jumping! You'll need a super fast shutter speed to catch your jumper in the air without them being blurry. If you're newer to photography, try the 'sports' or 'action' mode on your DSLR camera. The trick is to make your model look relaxed, as if they are simply floating (even if they are jumping!).
A second, more technical way to achieve this is to use photo editing software to remove a prop holding up your subject.
This is a really fun photography project for older kids to try. At the very least, they'll get some energy out! I've linked a PetaPixel tutorial below.
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