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You are here: Home / Musings of Motherhood / If you give a girl a camera

If you give a girl a camera

By Jessica

If you give a girl a camera…

she will slide off your lap

kids on moms lap

forget the tight grip claiming your hand

find a way to say hello behind a lens

party guests

bring out the sillies

kids with pacifier

capture her sister’s smile

teen smiling

and even hand the camera to her brother

mckenna

but just for a moment

boys with dad

before she takes it backย and sets off

party guests

to talk to the world again.

parker

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.ย 

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53 Comments Filed Under: Musings of Motherhood


Comments

  1. Rathi says

    July 19, 2012 at 7:53 am

    This is so absolutely beautiful ๐Ÿ™‚ Just so beautiful.

    Reply
  2. Ilana says

    July 16, 2012 at 8:53 am

    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.

    Reply
  3. dumb mom says

    July 15, 2012 at 10:08 pm

    Yep, when #3 steals my camera I get all kinds of fun images. Looks like she’s a camera lover just like me!

    Reply
  4. Jen Has A Pen says

    July 14, 2012 at 12:50 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 15, 2012 at 2:20 pm

      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.

      Reply
  5. Not a Perfect Mom says

    July 13, 2012 at 1:23 pm

    she got some great shots! But I would be terrified to hand over the big camera to one of the kids…

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 15, 2012 at 2:19 pm

      We followed her like a hawk and are now shopping for a kid-friendly camera (in dark pink) for her.

      Reply
  6. Andrea says

    July 13, 2012 at 12:39 pm

    Really creative! She has really caught the sweetest moments, from her special view! Such a great idea!

    Reply
  7. Paolo says

    July 12, 2012 at 11:23 pm

    Wow! Your grandmother is so pretty. The birthday of your grandma looks fun and decent. You all look happy and having a nice party.

    Reply
  8. Julia says

    July 12, 2012 at 11:14 pm

    Oh how beautiful! I loved seeing the party through her eyes and your captions are perfect.

    Reply
  9. Natalie @MamaTrack says

    July 12, 2012 at 10:24 pm

    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.

    Reply
  10. Runnermom-jen says

    July 12, 2012 at 5:08 pm

    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!!

    Reply
  11. julie gardner says

    July 12, 2012 at 2:10 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 15, 2012 at 2:18 pm

      Thank you, after I posted this I realized that I owe another whole post to my grandmother and her amazingness. Soon to come.

      Reply
  12. Diane says

    July 12, 2012 at 12:23 pm

    What fantastic photos!!! She definitely has an eye…what fun for her! ๐Ÿ˜€

    Reply
  13. Anne says

    July 12, 2012 at 11:59 am

    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!

    Reply
  14. Jim says

    July 11, 2012 at 8:18 pm

    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

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 15, 2012 at 2:17 pm

      Can’t wait to see the idea, loved seeing what mine came up with and how the camera transformed her.

      Reply
  15. Jen says

    July 11, 2012 at 4:19 pm

    It’s fun to see the world through their eyes… to see what they see.

    Reply
  16. John says

    July 11, 2012 at 3:59 pm

    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.”

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 6:50 pm

      Very true, we followed her around cringing as she held our camera. She’s definitely getting her own, durable one, very soon.

      Reply
  17. Tonya says

    July 11, 2012 at 3:24 pm

    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. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 6:49 pm

      Oh good, can’t wait to see it, I’m definitely going to have to get McKenna that camera. Does it come in pink?

      Reply
  18. Jessica says

    July 11, 2012 at 2:13 pm

    We were a little nervous about her handling the “big camera” but luckily it survived :).

    Reply
  19. Tayarra says

    July 11, 2012 at 1:42 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:23 pm

      I loved it too, especially how much a lot of the elderly people lit up. And there were 100 pictures of everything too :).

      Reply
  20. Courtney Kirkland says

    July 11, 2012 at 12:45 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:22 pm

      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.

      Reply
  21. Kristin @ What She Said says

    July 11, 2012 at 12:35 pm

    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. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:21 pm

      4! She did pretty good didn’t she? I loved seeing the smiles she got out of everyone.

      Reply
  22. Jackie says

    July 11, 2012 at 12:02 pm

    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.

    Reply
  23. Jessica says

    July 11, 2012 at 11:40 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:21 pm

      What a neat thing for him to do and I’m sure it was so cool for you to watch too.

      Reply
  24. Stacy Uncorked says

    July 11, 2012 at 11:31 am

    Wow! She took some amazing shots! You’ve got quite the little photographer on your hands. ๐Ÿ˜‰ I’m SO going to have to do this – I love seeing the world through our child’s eyes. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:19 pm

      It was great to see and seeing the end result was even better!

      Reply
  25. Ali says

    July 11, 2012 at 9:50 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:18 pm

      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.

      Reply
  26. angela says

    July 11, 2012 at 9:22 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:17 pm

      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.

      Reply
  27. Kimberly says

    July 11, 2012 at 7:56 am

    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…

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:16 pm

      Usually every picture is of her brother sticking out his tongue so this was a big improvement.

      Reply
  28. tracy@sellabitmum says

    July 11, 2012 at 7:48 am

    Oh this is fantastic. I love her view so much. xo

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:24 pm

      I thought of you when I posted this. Maybe you can give her lessons since I’m definitely not qualified ;).

      Reply
  29. Mark says

    July 11, 2012 at 7:38 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:15 pm

      I wonder which one of them will grow up with your great photography skills.

      Reply
  30. Barbara says

    July 11, 2012 at 3:05 am

    What an amazing idea. She did a great job. I loved seeing the pictures from her perspective!

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:13 pm

      I loved seeing them too, it was great to see everyone’s response to her.

      Reply
  31. Elaine A. says

    July 11, 2012 at 12:12 am

    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! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:25 pm

      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.

      Reply
  32. Jessica says

    July 11, 2012 at 12:02 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 11, 2012 at 2:12 pm

      I was surprised at how good they were, although I think I did delete about 100.

      Reply
  33. christine says

    July 10, 2012 at 11:23 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 10, 2012 at 11:28 pm

      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.

      Reply

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