We have two of the grandchildren for a week and I lent an old camera to the 11 year old one and asked her to take some pictures of her brother Here is one of them and I do not think I could have done as well myself
Probably the main reason that their picture look so different is that they are taken from Kids height. That is one reason that Rolleiflex shots of Kids work so well as many are taken at belly height. At college we were told to get down to their height.
She's done a great job here. I suppose part of it is that she will relate to him in a completely different way than an adult does, which will lead to a different kind of result to that which would be obtained by somebody more senior. Also she would also not be diverted by the more technical issues that a more experienced photographer would consider.
Very nice. 6 year old niece picked up her dad's D5 at our wedding reception and did a couple that got into the book. Just things like how to switch it on and which way round to hold it usually defeat them.
Dear Mike, Twenty or thirty years ago at Shutterbug magazine, if we reviewed point-and-shoots at all, we'd normally give them to one of the non-photographic staff (design, layout, advertising...) because the professed photographers couldn't work the damn' things out. Cheers, R.
Different eyes, fresh view, no technical concerns, free as a bird with a lively eye. Result: delightful image.
On Saturday I was asked to take a group photo using their camera - trouble is it was an i-phone; no recognisable controls, If I'd needed to set something I'd have been completely lost... The reason my first ever digital camera was an SLR was because it had controls that I knew how to adjust, at work we had a couple of compacts and I could never get the wretched things to do what I wanted rather than what they wanted...
I find that dslrs are a damn sight easier to use than compacts, simply because they are easier to set and have decent viewfinders. My Fuji csc is quite easy, but still not as simple as a dslr.
I usually give my 12 year old nephew the Sony A6000 with kit lens when we have a family get together and his pics are often better than mine. Spontaneous, no technical concerns and peer to peer relationship with subject I guess.