Ep. 1 - From Depression to Expression: How a Camera Changed My Life

A camera can be more than a tool; it can be a life raft. Brandan Watts opens up about the early years where confidence looked solid on the outside but felt shaky underneath, the college stretch marked by GPA pressure and repeated no’s, and the unexpected relief found when a viewfinder became a way to breathe. That personal journey sparked a simple, radical idea: put cameras in young people’s hands and listen to what they have to say.

We walk through how Kidz N Cameras grew from that spark into a nonprofit built on intention over equipment. Brendan explains why this isn’t just a photography class; it’s a structured space where composition and framing unlock a deeper skill set: emotional expression, communication, and self-belief. From juvenile detention workshops to museum partnerships and library programs, the work centers kids who are too often labeled before they’re heard. The stories are concrete: quiet students presenting their images with newfound confidence, teens translating heavy emotions into landscapes and portraits, and a photo contest that paired images with artist statements to stunning effect.

Along the way, we talk real-world milestones and lessons learned: the year-long grind to meet a fundraising match, building a curriculum, investing in cameras, and designing programs that balance craft with care. We explore why creativity is protective, how photography slows time and offers control, and what can change when a community chooses to ask who a kid is rather than tell them. If you’re curious about youth empowerment, arts education, or the healing power of storytelling, this conversation offers a clear path to get involved and a reminder that images can outlast doubt.

If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review. Join us on socials at Kidz N Cameras and visit kidzncameras.org to support workshops, camps, and contests that help young people find their voice.

Transcript

First-Time Host And Purpose

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This episode is brought to you by Wiggins Incorporated. Thank you for supporting Kids and Cameras. All right, y'all. Welcome to the Kids and Camera Podcast. Before I say anything else, I just want to say thank you for being here. This is my first time hosting my own podcast. I've been the guest on other podcasts, but like I said, first time hosting. So be patient with me. Give me some time. I'm a little nervous because I don't have a guest today. It's just me. So nobody to interact with except for you. And I hope I do a great job of doing that. So just let me take my time, be patient with me, and we're going to make this thing work. So my name is Brendan Watts. I'm the founder of Kids and Cameras. I'm a photographer, I'm an entrepreneur, an educator, and someone who deeply believes that creativity, especially through photography, can help young people express emotion, build confidence, and better understand themselves. The first episode isn't about teaching photography, it's about contest and its foundation. I want to introduce myself and explain what Kissing Camera is, how it started, and why does it exist and why this podcast matters. So wherever you're listening from, get comfortable. Or as you're driving, as you're sitting at home, as you're walking, I just invite you to sell in for a bit. I want to start off with who I am, because kissing cameras didn't begin as a nonprofit idea. It began at real life experiences. I'm from Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Early Insecurities And College Struggles

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Growing up, I was always someone who felt comfortable talking to people once the ice was broken. I could adjust two rooms, I could fit in. On the outside, that looked like confidence. But underneath that confidence, there were insecurities. I didn't really know how to express. A lot of it was just that fake it until you make it. Like I just grew up that way. I'm going to fake it until I make it. I will go to the bathroom, look at myself in the mirror, and just give myself affirmations. Then learn until later that was called merit therapy. I just thought I was being a real kid in the mirror, talking to myself. So, but yeah, fake it until you make it. A lot of trying to prove that I belong. When I went to the University of Arkansas, that was my first time out truly on my own, out the house, no parents to tell me what to do, and try to find my own way. Like a lot of young people, I struggle to find my place. It didn't immediately find my tribe. I didn't immediately feel grounded. And when you don't feel grounded, you start searching from belonging wherever you can find it. During that time, I made choices that really didn't align with who I wanted to be. I didn't fully understand how much those decisions would follow me. Academically, I struggled. I didn't have the best GPA. I was that student who had to study hard, try hard, just to try to pull off a CLB. It never came easy for me. But also with that, not having the best GPA, it was hard for me to get internships. So it started making me feel like if I can't get internships, even if I graduate, people are not going to want to hire me. Like, what's the point of me getting this degree? I felt like GPA mattered so much that I didn't realize that later on, GPA is a lot of people don't even look at the GPA ones when you graduate. It's more of a, hey, we just want to know you can start something and finish. But I didn't understand that. So me not being able to get intern internships, me just feeling that type of way really, you know, it really made me feel a certain type of way. And at the time I just didn't know how to express that. So as I applied for internships, I asked a question and I kept hearing no. And after a while, when you hear no enough times, you start internalizing it. You start asking yourself, am I not good enough or am I already behind? And to be honest, I wasn't even fully sure what I wanted to do in college. I got my idea of going to college for information systems. And the reason I chose it is because my brother did computer science. And I saw the house he lived in. I saw how he took care of his family. I saw all the great things and the traveling he got to do and the type of money he was making. So I was just like, sure, I'm going to go to college and I'm going to get my degree in information system because it just felt like one of those degrees where people say you can get a job anywhere. Somebody always gonna want to hire you and you're gonna start off getting paid good. So it just seemed like the stable choice. It made sense on paper. But internally, I was still searching. I want to be fair to myself here. Maybe I didn't always know how to advocate for myself. Maybe

Discovering Photography As Therapy

SPEAKER_00 5:20

I didn't fully understand how the system worked. Maybe my GPA and the constant no started shaping me how I saw myself more than they should have. What I do know is this when effort doesn't immediately turn into opportunity, it's easy to confuse struggle with worth. And I started believing that narrative, that maybe I wasn't worth the investment. That belief didn't come from one moment. It came from repetition, from silence, from doors that didn't open. And without realizing it at times, that uncertainty started influences, it started influencing the choices that I made. How I sold up in the world. Some people learned by listening, some people learned by watching. And some people, like me, had to learn through experience, no matter how difficult those experiences were. Because of the choices I made, certain career paths closed. Even though I graduated with my degree, doors I expected to walk through were no longer open or available. As difficult as those moments was, it became a turning point. Then when I picked up a camera, at first I thought I would focus on landscape, cityscape, architecture, and maybe photography, photography would be photographing people or weddings just to make some money on the side. But the more I photographed those people, the more I felt in love with photographing people. The way I just got to tell their stories, show their emotions, highlight people, and create memories for them that would last forever. Um, it brings me back to when I used to look at my parents' albums. You know, the old albums where the paper, the plastic comes undone, and you had the four by sixes and wallet-sized photos inside. Well, I had pictures of my granddad, um, my dad's dad. And I never actually got to meet my granddad. So through that one picture, mixed with the stories that my parents would tell me about my granddad, kind of made me feel like I got to know him. And then that's when I think I first started realizing how powerful photographs are and the importance of everybody having their own photographs, getting photographs taken of them, getting photographs taken with your loved ones, because when you don't know a person or a person passes, that's all you have, those memories. So it really just made me cherish telling other people's stories and highlighting people. I wanted to bring their experiences to life through the lens. So as photography started out as just the way it made money, well, I figured that out, but it slowly opened my eyes to emotion, to time, to history, to memory. I realized photography could capture moments that lasted longer than words. It started as a business, but it turned into a love. I like that. Yeah. It started as a business, but it turned into love. If it wasn't for that love, I probably wouldn't have put the camera down. If it didn't help me build confidence, I would have walked away. If it didn't change how I looked at people and the world, I would have stopped. When the love came, the business followed and everything became easier. And that changed everything. Have you ever found something in your life that helped you slow down and breathe when things felt overwhelming? In 2020,

Why Kids And Cameras Exists

SPEAKER_00 9:02

my mom had to be airlifted to the hospital in Little Rock due to fluid on her brain. It was during COVID, and we weren't allowed to be in the hospital with her. Now, during that time, I'm stressed, I'm feeling depressed. It's me and my brother in a Little Rock hotel, wishing we could go to the hospital, but we couldn't. And I needed something to just get it off my mind. Like I'm stressed. And you know, stress, stress is not good for you. Stress is not good for the body. And the only thing I could think of is at the time is let me go do some photography. Let me go call a friend and let's do a photo suit. Because when I'm doing a photo shoot, I'm locked in. I'm thinking about the lighting, the composition, and creating something. I'm focused on not just on the time, but the other person's time because time is valuable. And in that moment, everything else faded. Despite everything I was going through, photography gave me a space to breathe. It didn't take away from the worry, but it gave me something healthy to hold on to. Stress and depression can take a serious toll on the body and mind. And having a healthy outlet can be the difference between coping and breaking. Photography was the outlet for me. It was my therapy. Sometimes I think about this now. What if I had discovered that earlier? What if I had a mentor? When I was younger, what if I had a positive way to express myself as I was feeling instead of holding it in? Those questions don't come from regret, they come from clarity. I'm grateful for the lessons that I learned and the person that I became. But I'm even more grateful that I can now use those lessons so other young people don't have to carry those same questions along. Because today I see myself as so many of the kids that we serve. So now let me explain what Kids and Cameras is. Kids and Cameras is a nonprofit organization that uses photography as a tool for emotional expression, confidence building, and storytelling for young people. And I want to be very clear, this is not just a photography class. Yes, kids learn how to take photos. Yes, they learn composition, framing, and storytelling. But the camera is just a tool. The real work is helping kids express emotions they don't always have words for. Build confidence in how they see the world. Understand that their perspectives matter and feel seen and valued. We work with kids from a wide range of backgrounds, from underserved community to school programs, community programs, and within the juvenile justice system. Some kids use cameras, some kids use phones. We also provide cameras during our workshops for kids who don't have access. What matters isn't the equipment, it's the intention. So I ask this what if creativity wasn't optional but extensive for young people? The question sits at the center of everything we do. This brings us to why kids and cameras exist. When young people don't have a healthy way of expressing themselves, that frustration can

Building Programs And Real Impact

SPEAKER_00 12:21

show up in negative behaviors, whether that's at home, schools, or sometimes in more serious ways. Other times, it shows up quietly. Grace drop, confidence phase, social anxiety builds. I kept seeing kids who were labeled before they were listened to. Kids who were told who they are whether instead being asked who they are. Photography does something powerful. It slows things down, it creates space, and it gives kids control. Along with expressing, we're also teaching real skills, access to professional equipment, real-world experience, communication, and networking. Because photography isn't just about being good with a camera, it's about connection, trust, and storytelling. I watched kids who barely spoke suddenly explain their photos with confidence. I watched kids process emotions through images they couldn't articulate verbally. What happens when young people finally feel heard? How different might someone's life be if they were given space to express instead of react? And that's why this work exists. Not for attention, not for recognition, but for impact. The idea for kiss and camera really took shape as I continued building my own photography career. I saw firsthand how the camera helped me express myself, how it gave me hope, how it became my outlet. And honestly, how it became my form of therapy. Photography took me to place a creativity that made me feel like life was better. And even when things were difficult, creating something meaningfully silted my perspective on life. It reminded me that I could create, that I had value beyond grades or labels, that I could really undercover overcome any situation that I got put in. That's when I started asking myself, how many other kids are struggling with the same thing? How many kids feel bossed in by expectations or unsure about their future? What if what picking up a camera did for me to help others? Not necessarily as a career, but as just a way of expressing themselves. So when you want to help kids in your community, you start thinking bigger. And that's where the idea of starting the nonprofit came from. The year I started, I joined the master program where donations would be massed up to $15,000. I thought it'd be easy. I thought I would raise this money in three months. But it took me an entire

Photo Contest And Student Breakthroughs

SPEAKER_00 15:05

year. I didn't realize the final dollar, I didn't, I didn't receive the final dollar amount until December 31st, right before midnight of 2023. 2023 was a grind. During that time, I received a few donated cameras and started working with youth in the Washington County Juvenile Detention Center. I did some speaking engagements and I just kept sewing up. In 2024, after received that money in 2023, I went out and I brought and purchased cameras. I created a curriculum. I hosted my own first workshop. I partnered with Crystal Bridges, where we ran three photography summer camps, spoke at schools and partnered with the Fairville Public Library. In 2025, we expanded to even more additional workshops. I did a six-week program with the Benton County Juvenile Detention Center and more speaking engagements, and I did a Give What You Can workshop and our own sum accounts. One of the biggest milestones was our photo contest. Over 70 submissions and more than 150 people attended our award ceremony. We had our emotions and nature and wildlife photo contest where kids had to submit photos of landscape, nature, and wildlife, but they also had to write an artist statement talking about the emotion that they feel in the photograph. The pictures that we received tied in with those artist statements were just breathtaking. Like the way kids dive deep to express their emotions in those photographs was the award itself. But we had it from third through the 12th grade, and we had it separated by grade level. So third through sixth, seventh through ninth, 10th through 12th. The first place winners in each grade level, we actually gave them a brand new mirrorless cameras. So the impact was real. We also that also helped start some people's photography career that actually really love photography and wanted to do this as a career. I had kids come up to me thinking, can you really do photography as a career? And I was like, Yes, you can. And I helped kids develop um their own strategies for what they really enjoy photographing and how maybe they could turn that into a career or a side hobby or just do it for fun, just to express yourself. But it was one of the greatest moments of the nonprofit, this seeing all these kids, seeing all their work, and just seeing how these kids express themselves through photography. Now we're here preparing to grow even further. It all started with one question. What would happen if we

Partnerships, Growth, And Core Beliefs

SPEAKER_00 18:00

put cameras in kids' hands and actually listen? The programs grew, the partnerships grew, but the heart stayed the same. Today, Kids and Cameras runs workshops, camps, photo contests, and we partner with schools, museums, and youth serving organizations. Every program is built around one belief. Photography is a language. And when kids learn that language, they start communicating differently with themselves and with the world. That's the work. This podcast exists because I wanted a way to stay connected year-round. Not just doing events, not just doing fundraisers. This podcast is a space for deeper stories, honest conversations, and community connections. A place to understand the why behind the work and not just the updates. So I'll leave this question here. What kind of community do you want to be a part of? That's what we're building. If any part of this resonates with you, there are many ways to support this work: listening, sharing, sponsoring, or simply staying connected. This podcast will grow, it will evolve, but it will always be rooted in one thing: giving young people a space to express themselves and be seen. And as you move on with your day, just sit with this. Where could creativity show up more intensely in your own life? This is Kiss and Cameras Podcast. Follow us on social media at Kiss and Cameras and visit our real site, kidsandcameras.org.

Community Invitation And Ways To Support

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I'm Brandon Watts. Thank you for listening and thanks for believing in the power of creativity.