I hesitated to even do a post on night photography for kids. I was worried that it may be too difficult for parents or even that many may not have a camera capable of it…but then I thought many may have a camera capable, but don’t know it. If you do, you’re kids will freak out the first time they see/do it.
I’m going to do my best at explaining how we did this with our camera, it’s a Canon 60D. Most SLRs (link to Wikipedia SLR) have what is called Bulb mode (link to Wikipedia Bulb mode). If you have a point and shoot camera, check your owners manual. Your camera will most likely be different, but if you have the Bulb feature your camera is capable of doing this.
Materials/Equipment
- Camera with Bulb mode
- Tripod
- Remote (not necessary)
- Flashlight
If you have more than one kid, give each a flashlight and they can all participate at the same time.
Night Photography For Kids Step By Step
1. Put your camera in Bulb mode. On my camera we turned this dial to B. On most cameras B (where ever it is on your camera) will represent Bulb mode. Check your owners manual if needed.
Obviously these first shots are taken during the day so you can see the settings on the camera, but wait until dark to do this activity.
2. Next, either set the length of time the shutter will stay open…or set your camera to use a remote. I used a remote so we could leave the shutter open longer than the internal camera timer would allow.
3. Now either put your camera on a tripod or find a ledge or step to set your camera on. While your camera’s shutter is open you’ll need the camera to be as steady as possible.
Wow! I have a few apples to pickup…sorry about that! ;)
4. Finally, click the shutter button…and let your kids go nuts swinging their flashlights around.
If your using the camera’s internal timer, the shutter will close by itself. If you’re using a remote, you’ll need to click the remote again to close the shutter.
Keep in mind you may need to experiment with how long the shutter is open. If your picture is too dark, you’ll need to leave the shutter open longer. This will allow more light to be collected. If your photo is too bright, you’ll need to shorten the amount of time it’s open.
Night Photography For Kids – Ideas
Let your kid run around swinging the flashlight, this is by far the easiest :)
Have your kids draw a particular shape in the air. We did stars, these were all made by Chuckers :) If you turn the flashlight off after drawing each shape, you won’t get a line of light connecting each shape.
“The Ghost Shot” have your kid stand in one place and hold as still as possible. Then shine the flashlight all over them. Next have them move out of the shot, and let your camera’s shutter stay open. This makes them look transparent, because the camera is still collecting light after they’ve left the shot.
Write words in the air! I wrote “Jack” and Chuckers wrote “Dad.” This is a little difficult because you have to write the word backwards for it to look correct in the photo.
I hope many of you are able to do this with your kids…I do apologize if you can’t. My main goal is to find art activities that don’t require a lot of equipment or materials. So, I won’t post many like this. My kids just loved it so much, I thought I had to share.
If you do have questions, feel free to leave a comment below. I’ll get back to you right away!
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