The Top 3 Camera's for Kids Recommended by a Photographer


A question I get asked often is about cameras for children. Both of my kids love camera's almost as much as I do and my son was taking his own photos at just over two years old. I'm going to go through with you which camera's are my favourite for kids (and why) in order of age appropriateness.

For Toddlers


This is the perfect camera for your little beginner. It's an easy point and shoot and pretty resistant to dropping, water and other general toddler chaos.

It's a good starting point for your child to grasp the concept of taking a photo, pointing it in the desired direction and pressing the button.

As a photographer focused on capturing memories and unique moments, the features I find annoying are the 'frames' and filters but with a small 5MP camera, it's not really about the quality of the photo anyway, it's all about the fun. The camera itself will set you back around $40. You can find the link below.


Ideal Toddler Camera



For Older Toddlers/Pre-Schoolers


I love a basic polaroid. It's a step up from the previous camera because by this stage they've grasped the concept of pointing and shooting, you get a good image (most of the time) and you get to keep the photo.

I bought a cheap little polaroid album and we put the photos in there together, and it's stored with other family albums. This is one the kids can get out and flick through and play with and jumble the photos. Polaroids are pretty good at withstanding fingerprints and bending that comes with natural curiosity and play.

Because film can be expensive, we save this camera for special events. I will say "We have 10 pieces of film paper in our camera, lets take photos of our favourite bits." Then I let them go for it. It's fun to see what they think are they highlights. There are plenty of learning opportunities around being intentional and teaching moments when we run out of film.

The cheapest model goes for around $99 and is perfect.


Instax Fujifilm Mini12 Instant Camera


For Primary School Aged Children


Before I go into this one, I want to start by saying that my child had experience with the other two cameras first. He already had a firm understanding of how a camera works, so it was a relatively easy transition. I wouldn't recommend going straight for this camera if your child didn't have any prior experience with cameras.

This little camera is so powerful, I'd actually recommend it to anyone who just loves taking photos and won't settle for the quality of an iphone.

The things I love about this camera;

  • The image quality is amazing, colour, quality, everything.
  • It has incredible zoom capabilities, my son loved being able to take a close up of his favourite football player from the third floor of a stadium. Incredible!
  • The feature that really ties it all together though, is the wifi/bluetooth feature that makes it easier than ever to just sent photos directly from the camera to my phone so I can print them or create a digital gallery or whatever.


This camera is great. It's not as hardy as the other cameras which is why it's not recommended for the inexperienced. If looked after though, you'll easily get years out of it. Holidays, school camps, football games.. wherever you want to capture those sweet memories from the eye of your child!


Canon Powershot SX740

So, what do I look for in a camera for kids?


I want them to be easy to use, 'life proof' while also being able to document memories we can hold on to. I want them to make life easy to keep and store photos while also teaching valuable lessons and encouraging creativity. What I avoid, are kids cameras that come complete with big screens, games and too many stickers which distract from what I think photography is all about. Capturing memories!


If you'd like to chat more about which camera would be best for your child or family, feel free to reach out any time!

Angelica x

(Both images taken by my son at 4 years old. First image is me and the second is my daughter.)