The Adventures of Dot and Mae

Do you like to take pictures? Dot and Mae do. They like to have pictures of all their friends so they have something to look at and remember all their good times. They also like to look at pictures of themselves and of their friends when they were babies so they can see how much everyone has changed over time. It’s also fun to take pictures of flowers and trees and clouds and pets - you never know what kinds of things you will find that are beautiful or interesting. This is Dot and Mae sitting on a very old camera, but just because a camera is old doesn’t mean you can’t take good pictures with it. You will have to try a camera out before you know what kind of pictures it’s going to take.

If you don’t own a camera, maybe your parents or a friend will let you borrow theirs. It’s nice to have your own camera though, so that you can keep it with you so you’re ready to take a picture on a moments notice - you never know when something funny or astounding is going to happen and you have to be ready!

Here is a picture of Big Girl Gabriella’s dad when he was little - wasn’t he cute? Isn’t it good to have a photo of him when he was this small so that you can see how different he looks now! It’s also fun to think about what was going on in the photograph, like why does he look so worried? Was he just being serious or was he angry about something? It’s so much fun to look at photos and to take them! If you are going to take photos, here are a couple hints:

Photographing Your Friends’ Unforgettable Faces: Get Closer

You’d be amazed at how many people picture-takers simply stand too far away from their subject. When you’re too far away, you allow distractions into the picture that don’t belong there. These distractions make it hard for people looking at your picture to know the subject of your picture. So, whenever you get a chance, take a few steps closer to your subject. If it’s a friend, fill the frame - the entire rectangle you see in the viewfinder - with his or her face. When you think you’re close enough, take another step closer.

You’ll be amazed at how much this helps!

Have Your Subjects Get Closer Together, Too

Also, when you get your friends together for a group portrait, tell them to get their heads close together. It’s that simple. So many people keep their distance from each other when they pose for a picture, but that makes them look less friendly - like they don’t really like each other. When your friends think they’re close enough, tell them to scrunch together just a little bit more.

Both of these are good pictures, but you can see Hayden’s silly face better because the person taking the photo got up close.

Here are some more fun ideas for taking pictures:

• Make a “My Day” Photo Journal

Dedicate a day to snapping photos of interesting things you see during the day. These can be as simple as a pet in a unique pose, a parent packing your lunch, or a pretty leaf on a tree. Use your photojournalist skills by organizing the photos on a poster or in a scrapbook, adding captions to each. A similar project would be a “My Neighborhood” scrapbook. You can take pictures of simple things, like the mailbox on the corner and the neighborhood park. These kinds of projects will be keepsakes later on in life. Not many people will have taken pictures of “ordinary” things in their past, but you will!

• Take Mystery Photos

Snap close-up and partial photos of ordinary objects and have your family and friends guess what they are! A close-up photo of the eyes on a pineapple or potato are examples.

• Put your Photos on T-shirts

Ask an adult to help you print out your photo on a piece of T-shirt transfer paper. These are really fun to do and work like an “iron-on” so you can transfer your photos to T-shirts to create wearable photo art.

• Make a Photo Puzzle

Glue printed photos onto a sturdy piece of cardboard, cut the picture into pieces, and create a homemade and personalized puzzle.

• Set up Small, Detailed Scenes with Toys and Figurines

We’re not sure how exciting this would be . . . but hey try it with your G.I. Joes or Pokemon figures - you can have lots of fun doing this! Somewhere Big Girl Gabriella has a group of photos she took when she was little of when her Barbie Doll married a Godzilla toy - so you never know what kind of creative things will happen when you use your imagination!

• Learn Photography Techniques

Learning how to take a good picture comes quite naturally with experimentation. At first, you will probably want to snap anything you see. After you start to see the results of your pictures, you might notice that, for example, a cluttered background interferes with the overall look of a photo - what can you do next time so that it will look different? Candid photos of people in natural poses often turn out the best, and taking pictures of objects at a slight angle often produces a superior photo. Experimenting with distances and lighting can be great learning experiences as well.

• Take Your Camera on Day Trips

When you remember to bring your camera with you wherever you go, ordinary trips to the store, for example, take on a whole new meaning. Of course, you can take your camera with you on trips to the zoo, a farm, or other family outing that permits the use of cameras, too.

• Become a Collector of Intangible Objects!

Lots of kids collect trading cards, stamps, and other tangible objects. You can “collect” abstract and hard-to-collect items through photos! Perhaps you want to collect icicles but don’t have the freezer space—simply snap photos of interesting icicles that you see over time. It would be impractical to collect doorknobs, illegal to collect manhole covers, and impossible to collect sunrises—but with photos, virtually anything is game. Funny signs or interesting license plates are other ideas for collections.

Here are a few more photographs to give you some ideas:

Here is a friend of Dot and Mae’s eyeing a cupcake! Doesn’t he look so cute? Wouldn’t you want to feed him a cupcake if he was your dog? It’s fun to have pictures of your pets, especially when you can capture some part of their personality!

The picture on the left is Big Girl Gabriella when she was a baby, and the other photo is of her Grandma when she was a baby - isn’t it funny to see how much they looked like each other?

Old photos are fun to look a t too. Here is Big Girl Gabriella’s mom and aunt when they were little riding in a little horse cart.

Here is BGG’s grandma whenshe was a little girl. It’s fun to see the old baby carriage and notice what kinds of clothes people wore.

Here is another old family photo. This is BGG’s great-great grandma on her wedding day in 1911. Weddings look like they were a lot different back then don’t they? It’s good to ask your family about their photos. You will learn a lot about the people in your family and the things that they did and saw in their lifetimes.

Don’t forget that you can take pictures of bugs or clouds or grass - anything that you can see you can photograph. Have fun and take some cool pictures!