Picture facts for kids
A picture, also known as an image, is something you can see that looks like something else. It's usually made up of many tiny colored dots on a flat surface. For example, a picture can show an object, a person, or a place.
Pictures can be drawings, paintings, or photographs. People who create them are called artists, photographers, or painters. Pictures are very useful! They say a picture is worth a thousand words because they can explain things much faster than words. Pictures and diagrams can show you how to do things, making them a helpful tool. An image is something you can see, but it isn't physically there. A lens can even make an image of an object appear somewhere else. Cameras use lenses to create the images that become photographs.
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How We Make Pictures
Today, most pictures are photographs. These are made using cameras. A camera creates a picture that looks very real, almost exactly like what you see with your eyes.
Before cameras existed, people made pictures using different tools. They used paint, brushes, pencils, crayons, and pens. Pictures made with paint and brushes are called 'paintings'. Some artists were so skilled that they could make paintings look incredibly real, even without cameras. Pictures made quickly with a pencil or pen are sometimes called 'sketches'. They might only show a basic idea of the real thing.
Most pictures are put on paper. Paintings are often made on a strong, rough fabric called 'canvas'. Sometimes, pictures can be put on walls, glass, or other surfaces. In old places like churches, you might see pictures on windows made from colored pieces of glass. These are known as stained glass.
Special Kinds of Pictures
Moving Pictures
If you take many pictures and show them one after another very quickly, it looks like the picture is moving. This is called a "moving picture" or a movie. A television shows you moving pictures using light from a glowing glass screen. A projector shines light from a light bulb through a special kind of picture that your eyes can see through. When this light shines onto a wall or another flat surface, the picture appears there.
Three-Dimensional Pictures
Some pictures don't look flat! People can make these by taking two regular flat pictures at the same time. You might need to move your eyes in a special way or use a stereoscope to see both pictures together. When you look at them correctly, the picture will appear to have depth. This is called '3D' or 'three dimensional'.
Cutaway Pictures
Cutaway pictures are special drawings or images that show you what's inside something. They make it look like a part of the object has been "cut away" so you can see its hidden parts.
Picture Series
A slide show is a group of pictures arranged in order to tell a story. For example, a slide show might illustrate a narrative or explain a topic step-by-step.
Images for kids
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A scanned image of the definition of image and imagery, from Thomas Blount's Glossographia Anglicana Nova, 1707.
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An SAR radar image acquired by the SIR-C/X-SAR radar on board the Space Shuttle Endeavour shows the Teide volcano. The city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is visible as the purple and white area on the lower right edge of the island. Lava flows at the summit crater appear in shades of green and brown, while vegetation zones appear as areas of purple, green and yellow on the volcano's flanks.
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Static image drawn with a pencil.
See also
In Spanish: Imagen para niños
