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Social skills are THE most important skills to be learned in our society, in my opinion.  On our own, we can research the "how's" and the "why's" of the world. But we live in a social community -- except when we are sleeping, we are interacting with others for the most part of our day.  We need to know how to communicate, negotiate, compromise, work as a team, stand up for our rights and beliefs, and be supportive to others.

How do we learn to do this?  
We learn most of this through example.  The people we are interacting with, listening to, or watching, are our role models.  The results of their actions will indicate to us whether or not we want to copy what they did. 
Was it rewarded?  Was it a positive experience, from our point of view? Are they respected? Trusted?
We are also guided directly by other people in our lives.  Children have parents and educators who are teaching them "how" to interact in an appropriate manner --guiding them to be self-disciplined. 

So what is the purpose of a camera??
There are now actual children programs aimed at teaching them social skills.  
Right up there with math lessons and phonics are social skills programs.  
The camera can be a vital tool to be used to demonstrate social interactions or as a springboard for a debate.  

Here are some ideas to start with.

Using the Camera

• talk with the children about interactions with others: (social skills) What behaviours hurt their feelings, make them angry, are confusing. How do they prefer to be talked to, questioned, directed to do something? Photograph the interactions as a visual reminder of the discussion.
• dramatizations: have the children create scripts for plays or do improvisations, demonstrating both appropriate and inappropriate interactions. Photograph the plays, capturing the results so you can post the pictures, acknowledging their work.
• debates: use the photos to discuss how each of the participants felt prior to, during, and after the interactions.  How could they have done things differently?  What factors should they have considered before speaking or acting? (how does the other person feel, what are they thinking, do they know all the facts, what was my role in this)
• community photos: take pictures of people in cars, walking, interacting (don't take pictures of faces unless you have permission). Discuss where they might be going, what they are thinking.  Build the children's sense of empathy and ability to put themselves in the other person's shoes.
• abstract: have children take photographs of objects that represent different feelings to them (ex. painting using black paint may be sad; bird in flight might be freedom)
• collages: make a collage of photos representing different emotions, conflicts; add a poem, or a word border describing the collage
• helping hands: take photographs of people helping people; frame them onto a hand shape, and build decorate a tree with the helping hands, or use them as a room border
• toddler's words: young children's lack of vocabulary is so very frustrating for the child who can't tell you that they are hungry, thirsty, angry, frustrated.   Take pictures of the child in various situations.  Use the photographs as a communication tool by having them point to a photograph to help communicate to you what they are wanting. You can then use the opportunity to model the appropriate words.  

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