Best Children Photography Books Under 16 Dollars That Will Inspire Your Little One – Part II

Welcome to our second set of recommendations!

While the first part covered books dealing with photography principles through fun illustrations and easy-to-understand theory, the following 3 books will jump straight into activities within the first few pages! So if your child is looking to test their photography skills, these are the go-to books for sure:

National Geographic Kids Guide to Photography

Price (paperback): Around 10 dollars

Reading age: 8 to 12 years

Author: Nancy Honovich and Annie Griffiths

This goldmine of information explains technical terms related to equipment, camera features, lens construction, and all the other fancy concepts while also providing the history of photography – all through fun illustrations.  All this information is given in easily digestible sections so that your child doesn’t get overwhelmed with information and give up. 

All the concepts are then tested in the highlight of this book – the assignments! These assignments include tips from National Geographic photographers themselves, which will help your child experiment with complex photography concepts they just learned!

Go Photo! An Activity Book for Kids

Price (Hardcover): Around 11 dollars

Reading age: 7 to 12 years

Author: Alice Proujansky

So your kid has read the basics, done a few fun activities, and is now looking for more! This book provides 25 projects, a mixture of solo/group activities, indoor/outdoor tasks, and so much more! Each project comes with valuable tips and can be tested on a phone camera, Polaroid, or even a DSLR! It is especially a blessing during quarantine, as it gives your child a new and fun project to choose from for 25 days straight. It’s a hands-on way of making them comfortable with converting the technical theory into the real deal!

The activities are not super-specific. Instead, they frame the task in a way that tingles the child’s imagination. 

There are questions like - “What do you notice that others don’t?” 

One set of instructions involves “taking a series of pictures that represent a friendship without actually taking a picture of your friend’s face.”

Surely it’s going to push your child’s imagination in a fun and creative way? There is also an activity that teaches you how to make your own camera!

Camera Quest – 31 Day Photography Challenge

Price (paperback): Around 12 dollars

Reading age: 7 to 12 years

Author: Margarita Brown, Sarah Janisse Brown, and Alexandra Bretush

This book takes the practical aspect one step further with 31 challenges that will lead to 31 beautiful creations.  It takes you on a one-month journey of exploring everything you have learned, one day at a time. None of these challenges require a specific kind of camera. A phone camera will work just fine!

For each day that your child completes the activity, they get to paste the photo for that challenge in the book itself. By the end of it, this book is a compilation of their creations!

Whether you are looking to nurture your child’s interest in photography or are trying to help them get into it, these books can definitely spark enthusiasm for the good ol’ camera. If not, at least you will get some pretty photos till the interest dies down!