5 Things I Learned When I Let My Daughter Use My Camera

“Mama, can I take some pictures?” my five-year-old quietly asked me. 

Normally my answer is no to this question. Under normal circumstances, there is just too much chaos going on at all times to trust one of my children with my iPhone. This time was different. We were out of town, at her grandparents’ house so that I could visit my grandma in the hospital. It was a last-minute, jump-in-the-car-and-go trip and I could tell she was feeling weird; unsure what to do with herself and missing the siblings that stayed home with dad. 

I handed her my phone, showed her how to turn on the camera, and she was happily occupied for two hours. It was amusing watching her walk around snapping pictures, but if I’m honest, I did feel irritated thinking about all the pictures I would have to delete. That night when I went to bed, I flipped to my photos to start deleting them and had a complete change of heart. The pictures I saw were little windows into my daughter’s heart that I treasure. 

Here are 5 things I learned about my daughter when I let her use my camera.

1. She’s paying attention and my example matters.

 There were several series of objects. She picked out an item, set it in a scene, and then took several pictures of it from multiple angles.

It is reminiscent of when I taught myself how to do product photography and photographed every individual cut of beef for our website. 

I often wonder if what I’m doing is worth it. Learning how to do something new, struggling to figure it out, pursuing creativity-this all feels like too much sometimes, and it would be easier if I didn’t. But when I see her imitating me in these adventures, I’m reminded that it’s even more important than I realized.

2. She is more patient and responsible than I thought.

At first, I watched her like a hawk, paranoid that she would be careless and break my phone or quickly lose interest with the phone lost as her attention shifted. Instead, she was cautious and made good decisions with it in her hand. She also spent two hours taking pictures and working to get just the right shot before moving on to her next subject. I trusted her and she rose to the challenge. 

3. Her perspective is unique and special.

The view from my parent’s deck looks a lot different at her height than mine. My focus naturally goes right to the river and then the view of town. From her perspective, Papa’s cherry trees are the main attraction and worthy of attention too!

I also thought it was interesting and sweet to see the things that grabbed her attention.

A framed wedding photo. 

The pretty prints of the dresses Grammy wore in high school.

Not yet ripe cherries.

Lots and lots of flowers!

4. She can be confident and independent.
I didn’t direct her at all, other than showing her how to turn on the camera. She bounced around the house and walked all over the property snapping anything that caught her eye. 

My daughter is usually afraid of my parent’s dog, but having a camera in front of her face trying to capture the moment appears to have made her more fearless of Siggy.

5. She follows beauty.

A large majority of the pictures she took were of flowers. Close-ups of individual flowers, more zoomed-out shots of whole flower beds, flowers of all colors and sizes, almost as if she wandered into the garden and was too captivated to leave.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalms 139:13-14 NIV

This is a great reminder that God intricately created each person, including children, with unique qualities and abilities. Encouraging their creativity is an excellent way to celebrate and embrace the wonderful works of God within them.