Three easy summer photo project ideas for kids

Do you have little ones who enjoy your art form as much as you do? Here are some easy and fun photo project ideas for kids for you to share over the summer.

Whether you share your own DSLR with your (responsible) child or use a childproof compact, there are endless ways that you can encourage your child to explore photography.

Document the world from their perspective

When my son was three years old we bought a waterproof, drop-proof compact camera (a Fujifilm Finepix XP140), and he LOVES it. During the first pandemic lockdowns in 2020, he took dozens of photos, mostly strange abstract creations. As he has gotten older, his skills are developing and he takes some great shots.

If you don’t have a dedicated camera to share with your kids safely, your mobile phone (supervised) is a great option for these photo project ideas for kids.

You could encourage them to take photos of:

• Their favorite toys or activities, such as Lego creations, collections, sports
• Other members of the family, such as their brothers or sister, parents, pets
• Insects or wild animals around your home or the local park
• Flowers and plants in your garden
• A color hunt: Give them a mission to photograph 10 things that are yellow
• A day in the life: Have them document each part of their day for 24 hours

To present the photos, you could create an album on Facebook to put all their creations in. What a great trip down memory lane it will be in future years to look back at.

Printing the photos for a scrapbook is also a great idea. Add stickers, drawings and descriptions to round out each project.

Make a My Family photobook

This can be as elaborate or simple as desired. Help your child to gather or take photos of everyone in their family, and present them in a book.

First, you can start by doing a family tree together. Who’s who in your family? Who do you have photos of already, and who do you need to track down a photo of? Consider including grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, and special family friends.

Depending on your budget, you could work together to create a photo book to be printed with a company like Zno. It’s sure to be treasured for years to come and would make an excellent gift for grandparents, too.

Or why not try the inexpensive DIY version of this photo project idea for kids: Print out your photos (either as 4×6 prints or using an inkjet printer), hand-write onto the back of each photo, laminate, punch a hole in the top corner and thread onto a ring. An easy flipbook to share!

What could you write about each family member? The sky’s the limit, but why not try:

• How each person is related to your child, e.g. cousin, grandmother, etc.
• How old they are and where they live
• Favorite activity to do together
• Each person’s favorite hobby, movie, book, etc.

Illustrate a story with photos

Help your child to write a short story that they’d like to illustrate with photos, and then create the scenes with dress-ups, toys and craft materials.

You’ll have to start with a storyboard: What are the scenes? What materials will you need to show each scene? Will you use actors (friends, helpful family members, pets) or toys to act out the scene?

What about locations? Can you make a set inside the house, or venture outside for some or all of the photos? How might you show a location you don’t have access to, like a space battle or an alien planet?

Once you have the pictures, print out the photos on an A4 page, leaving a white space at the bottom to write in the words. Bind with a cardboard cover: Staple the pages inside and then fold a strip of tape over the spine to protect fingers from staple points. Don’t forget to include the young author’s name on the front cover!

This is great for their storytelling and sequencing skills, as well as the joy of planning and seeing a project come together into a finished product. And again, what grandparent wouldn’t love to have a copy as a gift? Christmas is taken care of!

More great photo project ideas for kids this summer

For more ideas of projects to do with your kids over summer, try using these ideas: Skittles, doing a treasure hunt, playing with refraction, popping water balloons or traffic light popsicles. For older kids, try these ideas, and for really young kids, check out these tips.