by Girls Who Click Partner Photographer Diana Caballero Alvarado
In July 2025, the community of La Gloria in the municipality of Cosautlán, Veracruz, Mexico became a place where the curiosity and imagination of 20 children ages seven to twelve found a new language of expression through photography.
For six days, ten digital cameras passed from hand to hand, serving as powerful tools of exploration, play, and discovery. The workshop created a space where the children freely expressed their perspectives while learning photographic techniques.
First Steps
The activities combined classroom exercises with homework assignments. On the first day, two dynamics unfolded in a community garden, both centered on careful observation and capturing in images whatever caught the children’s attention most. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, insects buzzed around flowers, and the scent of earth and blossoms filled the air as the children explored.
First, they sketched on sheets of paper what they observed, an activity that became the opening pages of their field journals. Some focused on delicate petals, others on twisting vines or the rough textures of tree bark. Because drawing brought them so much joy, it remained available throughout the workshop, allowing them to return to it again and again to record new discoveries.
Then came the most anticipated moment: discovering and using a digital camera for the very first time. Ten teams formed to share the ten available cameras, passing them carefully from hand to hand. They learned the buttons, parts, and functions, and grasped the importance of treating the camera as an extension of their own eyes. Very quickly, they grew comfortable with framing, composition, and adjusting focus to capture what caught their attention.
Their first subjects included flowers swaying in the breeze, textured tree trunks, crawling insects, smooth stones by the riverbank, the ever-changing sky, and the sparkling surface of the river. By the end of the session, they excitedly shared their photographs with the entire group, comparing perspectives, noticing details, and celebrating each other’s discoveries.
Portraits and Gazes
The children engaged in three exercises focused on portraiture, exploring the many possibilities of framing, angles, and settings:
- At home, they photographed the animals they lived with every day, turkeys pecking in the yard, chickens clucking around their feet, goats resting in the shade, dogs wagging excitedly, cats lounging lazily, and rabbits nibbling on fresh greens. They experimented with perspective, sometimes crouching low or shooting from above to capture the animals’ personalities.
- In teams, they photographed their classmates, exploring playful poses, candid expressions, and shared laughter. They learned how small changes in angle or distance could dramatically transform a portrait.
- Individually, they created self-portraits, experimenting with timers, mirrors, and props to express their own identities and moods.
Several children also chose to photograph members of their families, capturing intimate moments, gestures, and the warmth of daily life.
Exploring the Environment
By the third day, they were already uncovering subtle expressions of light and shadow, noticing how morning sunbeams stretched across walls and how late-afternoon clouds softened every edge. They sought out textures in tree bark and worn stone, captured abstract shapes in rippling water and weathered doorways, and celebrated the vivid presence of color in their homes and throughout the community.
We also visited Pedro’s forest nursery, a vital part of the Network of Agroecological Biodiversity Nurseries. There, the children photographed the tree germination beds, the surrounding rolling landscapes, and the vibrant fruits, seeds, and small animals that called the nursery home. They captured delicate seedlings reaching toward the sunlight, colorful birds flitting between branches, and the intricate textures of leaves and bark.
At the end of the visit, Pedro explained the importance of conserving and reproducing more than one hundred species of cloud forest trees, highlighting how these trees not only support biodiversity but also provide essential shade for coffee crops. The children listened attentively, connecting the photographs they had taken with the broader story of ecological stewardship and the delicate balance of their environment.
From File to Paper
Each activity invited the children to see the familiar with new eyes. From every exercise, they selected their three favorite photographs and shared with the group the stories, emotions, and observations behind their choices. At the end of each session, we downloaded and carefully organized the images into folders by team, day, and activity, guiding the children through the process of file management and the importance of preserving their work.
One day, we brought a portable printer loaded with inks and paper, allowing them to experience the full journey from capture to print. They watched in fascination as their images appeared on paper, discovering the tactile and visual dimensions of photography. The following day, they eagerly revisited their prints, seeing their own gaze reflected back at them and gaining a deeper appreciation for how photographs can preserve and transform a moment.
Afterward, they mixed one of their photos with acrylics, colored pencils, and cutouts, turning it into the cover of their field notebook.
Exhibition and Community
The workshop concluded with a collective exhibition at the community hall, where families, neighbors, and community members gathered to experience the world through the eyes of the children of La Gloria. The walls and tables displayed their photographs, vivid portraits, detailed close-ups of plants and animals, and sweeping landscapes, each image reflecting a unique perspective and a moment of discovery. Laughter, curiosity, and pride filled the room as the children guided visitors through their work, explaining the stories behind their favorite shots and sharing the techniques they had learned. The exhibition became a celebration of creativity, community, and the power of seeing the everyday in extraordinary ways.
In addition, one evening featured a special screening of five short films from the Traveling Community Film Festival of the Earth (FICCTERRA), which also provided the projection and sound equipment. Families gathered in the community hall, filling the room with anticipation and excitement as the lights dimmed and the films came to life on the screen. The screening sparked conversations, laughter, and moments of reflection, highlighting the connections between cinema, photography, and community. It offered the children an opportunity to see how visual storytelling could capture the spirit of a place, inspire curiosity, and bring people together in a shared experience.
Acknowledgments and Looking Ahead
This summer workshop was made possible thanks to a network of collaborations. Girls Who Click, an organization dedicated to promoting the inclusion of girls and adolescents in the world of photography, enabled our associate photographer Diana Caballero and local photographer Karo Carvajal from the Universidad Veracruzana to lead the workshop.
Thanks to the Amy & Jocelyn Gannon Foundation, which was created to honor the legacy of Amy and Jocelyn by supporting women entrepreneurs and talented young artists and athletes, we were able to provide ten digital cameras that remained in the care of the community’s children, as well as paper and ink to print one hundred photographs. Their support allowed each child to fully engage in capturing and producing their images, fostering creativity, confidence, and a sense of ownership over their work. The foundation’s mission to address economic and social inequities resonated in every aspect of the workshop, ensuring that each child could access the tools and opportunities to explore their talents.
The local organization Iniciativas para la Conservación de la Naturaleza A.C. served as an essential bridge with Pedro, who in turn connected with the families, strengthening the bond between children, nature, and conservation projects. This network of partnerships allowed the workshop to flourish, leaving a lasting impact on the children, their families, and the broader community, and carrying forward the vision and spirit of Amy and Jocelyn in a meaningful, tangible way.
Seeds of New Perspectives
Beyond technique or outcomes, the greatest achievement lay in showing that childhood, when given space and tools, was capable of reinventing the way we see the everyday. The children understood that photography was not only a form of documentation but also a way to express what they felt and thought, projecting their perspectives to others.
Photography, combined with activities such as drawing, collage, bookbinding, and short film screenings, revealed itself as a catalyst for creativity and a bridge to new learning experiences. In La Gloria, the children discovered that their voices could also be expressed through images, and that each photograph stood as a testament to memory, imagination, and the richness of their perspective.
The workshop planted seeds of new viewpoints that continued to grow alongside its youngest photographers. The process did not end there: we left proposals for themes to photograph over the next six months, joy, love, self-portraits and emotions, water, light, the community of La Gloria, coffee, family, and friends. We looked forward to returning and being amazed once again by the perspectives they captured.
