Photography for Kids! Book Review

Rocky Nook's Photography for Kids! A fun guide to Digital Photography introduces photography to kids ages 8-14 at a level tuned to their understanding. In a simple and clear manner, it explains all the functions of a modern compact digital camera. It follows with plenty of examples and ideas for taking photos and what to do with them. Above all, this book emphasizes creativity and fun.

This book is written by Michael Ebert and Sandra Abend. Ebert is a photographer and teacher at the university in Magdeburg, Germany. He has written extensively about photography. Abend directs the Kinderartothek of the Wilhelm-Fabry-Museum in Germany. She also teaches at the University of Düsseldorf in Germany. Ebert and Abend have been running photography workshops for children for many years.

Filled with pertinent photographic examples to illustrate its points, this book focuses on practical application. It is an engaging read well tailored to its audience.

Photography for Kids! is organized in a practical way, very much resembling an actual workshop. Each section is color coded and contains relevant and varied images of kids taking pictures or of fun photographic subjects. The language is uncomplicated and full of examples. The font used is large and easy to read. Bright colors are used for titles and to highlight relevant tips.

The book starts by explaining why photography has fascinated people for more than a century and how images have multiple uses from being a way to keep our memories to advertising products . It touches briefly on the history of photography since its invention and how things evolved. It emphasizes that photography is easier and faster now with digital cameras.

After telling us what a photo and a camera are, the book shows us how to work with a camera. Starting from turning a digital camera, the book then goes into details about every common function of a modern compact digital camera. Although each camera is different, the approach of this book is to address universal concepts. Power, zoom, flash, macro -- every button is explained along with multiple photos to illustrate the effects of each setting. Each function's icon is presented as well to ease recognition of buttons on an actual camera.

Photography for Kids! gives plenty of creative suggestions for further practice. Photographic subjects such as the readers themselves, their friends, family vacations, animals, and a zoo are all covered. The book also compels readers to keep an eye out for unplanned subjects and to photograph anything that is interesting to them. The ease of experimentation and instant feedback provided by digital cameras are used as keys to motivate young photographers.

The book goes on to talk about what to do with all your digital pictures. It covers how to transfer them to a computer and - very importantly - back them up. Photography for Kids! also includes ideas about which photographs to print and display and important factors to consider before sharing them online.

Throughout, Photography for Kids! keeps a concise and clear tone while being fun and engaging. This 159-page book also includes a glossary of terms for quick reference and serves as a great survey of photography for young readers. Overall, this book succeeds at delivering the content needed by its audience in a format which is very well suited to their comprehension.