Children as Photographers: An Analysis of Children's Photographic Behaviour and Intentions at Three Age Levels

Abstract

We report a systematic study of children as photographers at three age levels across five European countries. 180 children, aged 7, 11 and 15, were given single-use cameras and asked to use them in any way they pleased over a weekend. The children were then interviewed about their photographs and the process of taking them. The photographs and related commentary were analysed by means of specially developed coding schemes for image content and photographer's intentions. The study has identified marked differences in children's understanding, behaviour and intentions as photographers across the three age groups. These have been described from interactional, socio-cultural and control perspectives. Children across the age groups showed an increasing ability to distinguish the properties of the image from the world it represents, and a developing reflective awareness of the equipment, the surroundings, the image and the effect of the act of photography on others. The older children were generally scathing of adults' attempts to produce posed idealized images and they valued authenticity and informality rather than technical proficiency. Thus, children are not simply apprentice adult photographers, but exhibit distinctive intentions and products that vary with age.

Using photography in research with young migrants: addressing questions of visibility, movement and personal spaces

“…However, the authors also note that these tend to be friends or, as in the case of my study, members of the immediate family. Young people's inclination for taking photographs of each other is also noted by a recent study by that possessions, home and family are at the heart of young people's interests, as Sharples et al (2003) suggest. However, I argue that researchers need to consider that children's choices may also be influenced by the desire to avoid taking photographs in public, crowded places where they may attract attention and where their pointing a camera in a public space could result in unwanted questions and comments.…”

“…According to the results of this study, young people tend to take pictures of their possessions and the photographs they take do not usually include people, regardless of whether they are taken indoors or outdoors. Sharples et al (2003) also remark that older children (i.e.…”

“…I coded the 584 images taken by the young participants by referring both to the visual element together with the text, then grouped the codes into main themes (Dodman, 2003;Sharples et al, 2003). What appeared immediately striking was the fact that, regardless of the sub-sample, the overwhelming majority of the young participants in…”

Traces identity and imaginary teens

“…Así, la fotografía participativa o Photovoice (como es conocida internacionalmente) desde su aplicación a mediados de la década de los noventa por Caroline Wang y sus colegas (Wang, 1998;Wang y Burris, 1994, 1997Wang, Yi, Tao y Carovano, 1998) en su trabajo con mujeres de una aldea rural en la provincia de Yunnan, en China, se convierte en una herramienta popular entre investigadores, educadores y otros profesionales, especialmente los que trabajan con grupos vulnerables y marginados, para promover la conciencia social y la justicia (Ziller, 1990;Wang, Cash y Powers, 2000;Narayan, 2000;Radley, Hodgetts y Cullen, 2005;DeJean, 2008;Guerrero y Tinkler, 2010;Allen, 2012;Aldridge, 2012), y en diferentes investigaciones realizadas, como instrumento para conectar con jóvenes y adolescentes (Hubbard, 1991;Checkoway y Richards-Schuster, 2004;Sharples et al, 2003;Mizen, 2005;Wilson et al, 2008;Mizen y Ofosu-Kusi, 2010;Luttrell, 2010;Skovdal, 2011;González Granados, 2011;Ali-Khan y Siry, 2013;Coronel y Rodríguez, 2013;Rabadán, 2014).…”

Insider-outsider-inbetweener? Researcher positioning, participative methods and cross-cultural educational research

“…Put differently, this could be the boundaries between the 'insider' and the 'outsider'. As outlined in the previous section, in this project, I have drawn on the participatory literature that promotes the use of photos and other visual media to include children and young people in the research process (Karlsson 2001;Sharples et al 2003;Mizen 2005). These authors have argued that it is important to consider the positioning of the researcher from the point of Compareview of participants and the potential benefits of shifting researcher positioning to enable more authentic research.…”