Photography from a child's point of view

I've have always loved a photographer with a unique perspective. One of my favorite magazines in high school was a photography issue of Life magazine that I picked up. Though the pictures weren't taken by kids, there was a section titled something about a child's perspective. It had pictures taken from a child's eye-level--things like the close-up face of a dog, people's legs...and other things that you would probably see from a 3-ft high perspective.

I told a friend not long ago that I would really like to see what some of the younger kids' perspectives are. I think too often we try to tell kids what they "should" and "shouldn't" take pictures of, write about, try to do, etc. I know as adults we are supposed to guide children, but sometimes I think we squash their creative juices. When we let them be, they prove us wrong (as I have found out several times this week).

Friday was another one of those days. C.J. was the Photographer for the day. I wasn't around him much, but I know by the end of the day he had the camera taken away because he was thought to be taking really random pictures. Maybe he was, maybe he just seemed to be because he's C.J., or maybe he was being very intentional. Either way, when I loaded the pictures onto the computer, out of the 100 or so shots he took, only about 5-10 of them were random shots. All of the others were very good (from my photographer's eye perspective). On some, he tried new angles (see above). Most of the others, he was experimenting with up-close shots. Both of which are great photography strategies.

As a photographer, I've always been interested in people shots. I would've never thought grocery store shots would impress me. But from C.J.'s pictures on Friday and the kids' pictures at Central Market on Monday, I am extremely impressed! I may start experimenting with my own fruit and vegetable pictures myself!

Thanks for the inspiration, C.J.!

For more of C.J.'s pictures, and to see what else is going on at the After-School Academy this summer, go to www.ourasafamily.blogspot.com. The kids are posting some great stuff!