Attach a PEZ Dispenser to Your Hotshoe for Child Photography

Big bulky cameras can be pretty intimidating when they’re used to photograph young children. For a cheap and simple way to make yours a little more child-friendly, consider using a PEZ candy dispenser as a fun, attention-grabbing hotshoe accessory.

The trick was popularized back in 2005 by a photographer named Federico Sartorio, who wrote,

Tired of being unable to take good photos of your friends/kids? Here’s my tutorial on how to create the cheapest and wackiest hot-shoe attachement for your camera.

[…] The best use for this attachement is to make people laugh and quickly snap a joyful portrait of them. You can then reward them with a sweet for added happiness. I’ve tested it on kids and friends and it works most of the time!

The only thing you really need to do is trim the base of the PEZ dispenser to fit standard hotshoes. You can do this with a box cutter, a file, or a saw. Here’s how Sartorio made his:

You can also find another step-by-step tutorial over on Instructables by a user named HarryHomm.

The dispenser is also a great way to quickly dish out “rewards” to kids who cooperate during your portrait sessions. If you find that the idea works, you can build up a collection of different characters to use.


Image credits: Photographs by HarryHomm and Federico Sartorio

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