Using Toys as Camera Accessories
I was hanging on the livingroom floor with Chloe the other day and Eureka! I made a discovery. Stacking rings make a great camera snoot! You know, the pyramid of rings that babies play with the world over. I had them, you probably had them, and now they’ve made their way back into my life. But take them off the stand and put them in front of 
your camera lens, and voila, you have a wacky, colorful camera snoot.
To make this shot, I pre-focused my Nikon Digital SLR camera on Chloe using a wide lens. Then, quickly, I held the rings in front of the lens and snapped the picture. It was challenging holding the rings with one hand, so it is much easier if you tape them together before trying this project.
For point-and-shoot users, the process is pretty much the same. Using a wide angle lens (usually the setting you get when you turn on your camera), frame your shot, press the button down half-way, then hold the rings in front of the camera and shoot.
Responses and Conversations
[...] This picture of Chloe is being featured on Photodoto today. Fun! Sure wish I’d titled it better! I blogged about this shot a few days ago. [...]
Comment by Digital Photography Blogs - i speak film - Blog Archive » Picture on Photodoto on August 3rd, 2006 at 3:29 pm
video teen…
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Comment by video teen on November 29th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
[...] Today I wanted to get shots of my daughter playing while using the playground equipment to frame her when I could. Stephanie from I Speak Film wrote a great post awhile back about shooting your kids through their toys, and I remembered this today when I was trying to find a way to make typical park shots more interesting. For my Day 10 shot for the Photo A Day project I used the bright yellow handrails of the slide to frame my daughter as she worked her way up the stairs (on her own, big girl!). I like the back-light, although I wish I would have moved the camera just a little more to an angle so the light was not as harsh. But overall I think it’s a fun shot that tells a story and is also framed in a way that puts you right in the action. I made a quick storyboard of another fun-with-framing shot with my daughter peeking through. Sometimes these photos are turn out great and make for really interesting shots. But I’ll be the first to admit that they don’t always work. Check out a photo of my daughter that I took at the beach last summer through one of her sand toys. I think that’s a case where taking a photo through a toy takes away from the overall feel of the image. Anyone else have examples of when this worked for you? [...]
Comment by Shooting the Kids - » Day 10: Taking Photos Through Your Kids’ Toys on March 10th, 2007 at 2:42 pm