Madeleine my Little Photographer

My six-year-old daughter Madeleine loves taking pictures, so we decided to dig up the old Canon Rebel collecting dust in a cupboard. Her eyes lit up when she saw the camera.

The past few weeks, I have been taking her out to various locations and letting her shoot wild and free. I just want her to have fun and embrace her surroundings through the lens. She loves going off by herself and taking in every little detail around her.

When we get back home we download the images and I have her pick the ones she wants to keep and I try to offer a few suggestions here and there on how to get better images on her next shoot.

A few days ago we talked about focus and how to get sharper images and so the next day, BAM! The problem was fixed. She is such a quick learner. Today, we went to a new favorite spot of mine and took pictures. I watched her as she set up her brother Ryder and went about having a little photo shoot with him. She was so calm with him and aware of his needs. She told him to watch out for ants and to smile only if he felt like smiling.



The shot above is her favorite shot (and mine too). What you see is straight out of the camera. I refuse to edit anything of hers. She will learn one day I suppose, which is why I keep all her photos and film footage. I can't wait to see her final cut of the Electric Light Parade she shot at Disneyland.

I have to confess that a year and a half ago, Madeleine took a shot of me in front of our house with the Canon 5D and I entered it in a contest. Out of 426 photographers, most of whom were professional photographers, she was one of the twenty who won.

Her prize was a $150 gift card to Bath and Body Works. We let her spend it freely as she wanted. I never saw so much Tinker Bell lip gloss and Cinderella nail polish in my life.

One last picture: She told me to act angry and then jump as high as I could. Even though I look constipated, for some reason I really like this shot?