She will slide off your lap
forget the tight grip claiming your hand
find a way to say hello behind a lens
bring out the sillies
capture her sister’s smile
and even hand the camera to her brother
but just for a moment
before she takes it back and sets off
to talk to the world again.
Do you ever hand the camera over to your kids? We gave the “good” camera to my four year old at my grandmothers 85th birthday party and it transformed her from an anxious little girl to a social butterfly. I loved seeing the world through her eyes, all 300 pictures of it. If you try it and blog about it leave the link in the comments, I would love to see your post.
And if you are an instagram-er like me, check out these five ways to decorate with your Instagram photos over at SheKnows.
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I'm Jessica, 30-something mom to five, four in my arms and one in my heart.
I love this! I love the photos she took and the different perspective. I am totally going to do this. (And come back to leave the link.) SUPER idea!
christine recently posted..Swim Baby Swim
Twitter: anditislove
Oh good, we hadn’t really planned to give it to her but I love how all the photos turned out and how she captured a smile on almost everyone’s face when she normally won’t even say hello.
Those are all great pics! My youngest took over the camera one day and took pics of the stuffed animals in her sister’s room. Some were pretty good shots.
Jessica recently posted..Now That It’s Over We Can Laugh
Twitter: mytimeasmom
I was surprised at how good they were, although I think I did delete about 100.
Oh gosh, you KNOW I love this!! She got some pretty great shots – WOW! I’m sure they were just so happy to smile for her. What a great idea, really. Love them all!
Elaine A. recently posted..Coming Home
Twitter: elainea
I really was surprised at how great the pictures came out and it was so neat to see how the camera transformed her personality as well. Going to do it much more often.
What an amazing idea. She did a great job. I loved seeing the pictures from her perspective!
Barbara recently posted..Taking Time to Play
Twitter: babspinfrance
I loved seeing them too, it was great to see everyone’s response to her.
Love love love this. The perspective from their eyes is so different isn’t it?
Can’t wait for my toddler to be old enough to handle a camera. For now, the smartphone will have to do
Alison recently posted..Never The Same Again
Twitter: AlisonSWLee
We were a little nervous about her handling the “big camera” but luckily it survived
.
These are fantastic photos! You should hand it over to her more often.
And yes, if I ever want to appear in my own blog, I give my camera to the kids.
m.
Mark recently posted..Read all about it!
Twitter: Rsimplelives
I wonder which one of them will grow up with your great photography skills.
Oh this is fantastic. I love her view so much. xo
tracy@sellabitmum recently posted..Fabric of Life
Twitter: sellabitmum
I thought of you when I posted this. Maybe you can give her lessons since I’m definitely not qualified
.
You know what?
she sure has a talent for taking pictures!!
I let my son play with our old camera. It’s funny seeing what he sees. Mostly it’s pictures of his dinky cars and my dog and my butt…which is weird…
Kimberly recently posted..Kim Versus Pig
Twitter: momgosomething
Usually every picture is of her brother sticking out his tongue so this was a big improvement.
She has a good eye! I like that you said it helped her break out of a bit of shyness. Abbey sometimes has a really hard time in large groups of people, especially when they’re family members she doesn’t see often. They want hugs and kisses, and she’s not so eager. This might help her feel a little more open. Beautiful!
angela recently posted..Keeping Our Cool
That is exactly what it did for McKenna. It was a party with lots of relatives she doesn’t know so she had a hard time and kept asking to leave. Once she had the camera she was like a different person and took pictures of people she had never even spoke to.
I love those! I did give the camera to Ryan once…they didn’t come out like those. Right now I won’t even give my “good” camera to my husband.
Ali recently posted..I Scream, You Scream. We All Scream When Mom Makes Us Eat Zucchini
Twitter: suitcasetricks
We were nervous about giving her the good camera but we followed her around to make sure it didn’t hit the cement and I was surprised at how great the photos came out.
Wow! She took some amazing shots! You’ve got quite the little photographer on your hands.
I’m SO going to have to do this – I love seeing the world through our child’s eyes. 
Stacy Uncorked recently posted..Mount Rushmore vs. Mother Nature
Twitter: RandomCoolChick
It was great to see and seeing the end result was even better!
Wonderful, as always, Jessica. You have a special talent for seeing the world through your children’s eyes and helping us to see it as well. My eleven-year-old received an iPod touch for Christmas and discovered a whole new world with the camera application. He even put together a presentation about photography for our end-of-the-homeschool-year party that showcased some of his best work.
Jessica recently posted..*Tissue Warning*
Twitter: closeenoughblog
What a neat thing for him to do and I’m sure it was so cool for you to watch too.
She did a great job capturing those pics!! Usually I find pictures on my phone, camera, and on my computer (PhotoBooth) from the kids taking all sorts of pictures! They’re fun to look at and see what they left for me.
Jackie recently posted..It’s All in the Pillow Giveaway!
How old is she again??? I’d say she has a natural eye! What adorable pics. Like seeing the world through a child’s eyes.
Kristin @ What She Said recently posted..Why Spelling Matters
Twitter: SaidKristin
4! She did pretty good didn’t she? I loved seeing the smiles she got out of everyone.
She did a great job! What a fun little way to bring her out of her shell. If she enjoyed it, you should check on one of those children’s cameras (they are drop, water and dirt resistant). I bet she’d have a blast!
Courtney Kirkland recently posted..Fears & Worries of Second Time Parenting
Twitter: CourtneyKirklnd
We were thinking exactly that. She has a really hard time with big functions like the one we were at, if getting her a camera helps that and also gives her a new hobby then I’m all for it.
I love these pictures. I do hand the camera over to my boys. I actually added a couple of them in my last post. I love seeing what they come up with even if it is the same thing 100 times. I’m sure she will alway remember that. I need to let my oldest have the camera for a while at an event like this. I love the perspective.
Tayarra recently posted..The Good Stuff
Twitter: tsharp12
I loved it too, especially how much a lot of the elderly people lit up. And there were 100 pictures of everything too
.
She did a wonderful job! Lucas got a digital (I know, right?) Fisher Price camera for his birthday and he has been having a blast taking photos of everything, but in all of his shots, heads are cropped off. You’ve inspired me to put together a post though.
Tonya recently posted..A Letter To The Dearly Departed
Twitter: letters4lucas
Oh good, can’t wait to see it, I’m definitely going to have to get McKenna that camera. Does it come in pink?
She’s got quite the eye, Jessica!
My kids (still much younger than yours) will mimic taking pictures, but haven’t gone about actually taking pictures just yet. However, I believe that change is coming, and coming very, very soon.
And the plan is to get each of them a cheap enough camera so as to have fun without breaking “the good one.”
John recently posted..Where I reflect on the direction of my blog and what makes me visit other blogs
Twitter: daddyrunsalot
Very true, we followed her around cringing as she held our camera. She’s definitely getting her own, durable one, very soon.
It’s fun to see the world through their eyes… to see what they see.
Jen recently posted..The Novice Phase
What a great idea! What better way to ‘see life’ than through a child’s eye! Great post Jessica! Gives me an idea….which I will share with you.
Jim
Jim recently posted..‘The Boys’
Can’t wait to see the idea, loved seeing what mine came up with and how the camera transformed her.
Such a great report from a little fairy’s perspective! I really like it, she has caught the moments which are sweet, these pictures aren’t so unnatural like the most which are made by adults. I think I have to give my camera to my son as well, thanks for this great idea!
Anne recently posted..Dieses Jahr werde ich es nicht schaffen…
What fantastic photos!!! She definitely has an eye…what fun for her!
Diane recently posted..Summer "Fun"… Laundry
Twitter: dkotucker
All the pictures are simply wonderful.
But I think my favorite is the one her brother took of her.
That cautious smile. The generosity it must have taken her to share such a BIG responsibility with someone else.
And then she reclaimed the camera as her rightful treat.
Love it. All.
And a happy happy day to your beautiful grandmother.
julie gardner recently posted..Today call me monstrous
Thank you, after I posted this I realized that I owe another whole post to my grandmother and her amazingness. Soon to come.
I love this!! I love that she was able to come out of her shell by “hiding” behind the lens. She did a really great job!!
Runnermom-jen recently posted..Today was Good…
These are great pictures! And what a fun idea. We got the boy a camera for his third birthday (Fischer Price), and he’s really loving it.
Natalie @MamaTrack recently posted..Essence of Now (July 13, 2012)
Oh how beautiful! I loved seeing the party through her eyes and your captions are perfect.
Julia recently posted..I Am
Twitter: juliahembree
Wow! Your grandmother is so pretty. The birthday of your grandma looks fun and decent. You all look happy and having a nice party.
Paolo recently posted..superb photography lesson
Really creative! She has really caught the sweetest moments, from her special view! Such a great idea!
Andrea recently posted..Eine tolle Applikation für Android: Tasks
she got some great shots! But I would be terrified to hand over the big camera to one of the kids…
Not a Perfect Mom recently posted..Being The Adult Is Great…Sometimes
Twitter: notaperfectmama
We followed her like a hawk and are now shopping for a kid-friendly camera (in dark pink) for her.
I love this! I betcha she can get the crowd to perform far better than an adult can! The pictures turned out amazing, I think.
Twitter: jenrambles
She got so many more natural smiles out of the guests than I think any adult could have. Loved seeing how everyone reacted to her.
She’s really good at photography!!
Leighann recently posted..Wait… You’ve Changed.
Yep, when #3 steals my camera I get all kinds of fun images. Looks like she’s a camera lover just like me!
dumb mom recently posted..Formerly Frumpy Friday. Wearing Denim on Denim?
Her pictures are AMAZING! Girl’s got a future in photography. And great idea about encouraging others to try. I think Mazzy would just flip my iPhone around and start watching YouTube.
Ilana recently posted..Which Kid’s TV Shows are You Destined to Watch?
Twitter: mommyshorts
This is so absolutely beautiful
Just so beautiful.
Rathi recently posted..I Remember: Run. Wild. Free.