Photographer, writer, occasional PetaPixel guest author, and photography teacher at Dakota College at Bottineau, Todd Vorenkamp wrote an adorable and educational book about photography for kids, A Is for Aperture: The ABC’s of Photography.
Arriving just in time for the holidays, Vorenkamp’s new book is delightfully illustrated by Jordana Shapiro, a freelance creative art director and graphic designer who is well-versed in photography, too. Shapiro teaches photography to adults with disabilities, helping them find their creativity and individual voice.
A Is for Aperture is, at its core, an ABC book for children, but designed to bring joy to seasoned photographers too. Many of Shapiro’s illustrations and Vorenkamp’s descriptions discuss photographic concepts, common camera gear, and different photo genres. The book includes photographic terms and call-outs to historically significant film and camera manufacturers.
For example, spoiler alert, A is “aperture” and B is for “bokeh.” Underneath each letter are other relevant terms, companies, and people. For A, it says Adobe Photoshop, ASA, astrophotography, autofocus, Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, and Richard Avedon. Further down, there are hand-drawn illustrations of lens apertures, including at f/2, f/8, and f/16, with each getting increasingly smaller, just like in real life.
“As a photo writer, I have always toyed with the idea of creating some sort of photography book based on the educational articles I have written for B&H, but could never come up with a good catalyst to launch the idea,” Vorenkamp explains. “A few years ago my cousin was visiting and we were in my son’s room looking at his bookshelf. She made an offhanded comment in a conversation, ‘You should write a kids photo book for Fin [my son] and call it: A Is for Aperture.’ The wheels started turning. Shortly after that I hired illustrator and former B&H colleague, Jordana Shapiro, and we started the project.”
Vorenkamp says he has long been passionate about photography, writing, and teaching, and this book combines all three.
“I love seeing my students develop their photography skills as they progress through the Dakota College program. Sharing my love for photography with people who are passionate about the art gives me great joy and this book is another way I can share that joy with photographers both new and old.”
Vorenkamp says there are many excellent educational how-to books about photography, but very few are aimed at kids and include general conceptual knowledge about the art form.
“I hope this book fills that void and helps get younger readers exploring the art of photography,” he says, hoping veteran photographers enjoy the book too and can share it with their families, especially kids.
“And last, I hope readers come across a new photographic term inside the book or a name of a photographer they have never heard of on the page and take the next step to explore those subjects a bit deeper,” Vorenkamp concludes.
A Is for Aperture: The ABC’s of Photography is available now for $14.99 in paperback and $4.99 for a Kindle edition.
Image credits: ‘A Is for Aperture: The ABC’s of Photography for Kids‘ is written by Todd Vorenkamp and illustrated by Jordana Shapiro. The images here were provided courtesy of Todd Vorenkamp.
