Christmas Gifts For The Photographer In Your Life!

If you have an uncle, cousin or daughter-in-law who is a photographer in your family, or a family member or friend who has talked about wanting to get into photography, you want to get them something they would really like! But let’s face it…you might not know THAT much about all the technical stuff and finding a gift for them might be challenging (thanks Geek Squad). Here are some great gift ideas for the newbie to the professional photographers in your life (someone want to tag my mom in this? 😉

NEWBIES

Camera Kits – Canon Rebel T7 / T7i

For the person who’s always talked about wanting to learn about photography! These cameras are what I started out on, and you can get some really awesome bundle deals around the holidays with multiple kit lenses. This Amazon Bundle with a Canon t7 is currently $459 and includes an 18-55mm lens, case, SD card and more! You can also upgrade a bit more to the T7i bundle, which has more features like a touch screen, higher ISO, bluetooth capabilities and more for around $700. Canon is a great brand with amazing camera bodies and lenses when they are ready to upgrade. You can also get a more budget-friendly older version the Canon Rebel T6 that I stared out on with 2 lenses for $400.

Nikon and Sony are also comparable brands. Check out the Nikon D5600 kit with 2 lenses for around $600! If you’re looking for something a bit more affordable then go with the Nikon 3500 kit with a lens and accessories for about $425. If you’re considering Sony, Sony is currently top-of-the-line on their high-end mirrorless cameras. For the beginner, they can start with the Sony Alpha a6000 mirrorless with a 16-50mm lens for only $450!

Prime Lenses – Canon 50mm 1.8mm

If they have a camera kit already, but haven’t invested in any lenses, a prime lens would be a great gift! Basically a prime lens doesn’t zoom, but it does have a wider range of settings that work great in lower lighting AND give more of those beautiful blurry backgrounds!! 50mms are a classic option and very versatile! This Canon 50mm 1.8 prime lens is a great first prime lens for only $125 if they only have kit, zoom lenses! Nikon’s version would be a Nikon 50mm 1.8 for about $175 and Sony’s 50mm 1.8 for about $200!

Memory Cards

Memory cards would be appreciated by pretty much any photographer. Memory cards can range in prices depending on the quality. A newbie will definitely need a few to start out with, so getting a few Sandisk Extreme Pro 32 GB or Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB will cover a lot of their needs starting out for around $12-$17! More experienced photographers could always use a few extra cards too! For their needs get something that will save images faster (around 300mbps) so they can keep shooting quickly, like Sandisk Extreme Pros in either 32GB for about $50 or a 64 GB for about $100.

Props

Whatever kind of photography they are interested in, there are a ton of fun and creative props to spark their creativity and grow their skills! Basic tools any photographer would use could be a prism to refelct and create ligthing effects or a glass ball, macro filters to magnify, reflectors, and remotes and tripods for self portraits or night photography.

If they are interested in newborn or product photography, then fun studio backdrops or studio kits are a great option and any fun and things you could find at local shops. If they are interested in wedding photography then ring boxes, styling mats, ring dishes, and fabrics to style wedding details will spark their creativity!

Photography-Minded Gift Cards

New photographers (and even experienced ones) appreciate gift certificates for needed services, like Adobe Gift Cards so they can get Lightroom and Photoshop for editing, or to Starbucks or their favorite coffee shop they spend a lot of time editing and meeting clients!

FUN ACCESSORIES FOR ANY PHOTOGRAPHER

Lens Mug

Give them a good laugh…or a heart attack with a Lens Mug Thermos to fill with their favorite coffee, tea while they edit or on the go! Or find some cute porcelain Coffee Mugs with hilarious phrases on them for your favorite photographer from Etsy!

Personalized Camera Strap

Personalized camera straps are a great way for a photographer to easily brand their camera and say something about how well you know them! This National Parks Inspired Camera Strap for the outdoor or travel photographer is gender-neutral. You can also find Leather Camera Straps Personalized with their name or business name, or other fun patterns with extra support on Etsy.

Blue Light Filtering Glasses

Hours in front of a computer editing can strain the eyes and keep photographers up at night from editing. There are a lot of cute and stylish blue-light filtering glasses that protect your favorite photographer’s eyes like Felix Gray‘s that are super fashion-forward with a lot of style and color options around $90. Or go a bit more minimal with some affordable and simple Blue Light Filtering Glasses from Amazon for $20.

Leather Camera Bag

There are a lot of styles for camera bags, and a lot of it depends on what kind of photography they do! If they shoot weddings and have a lot of lenses, then larger backpack style bags are great from Kamrette. Kelli Moore has some stylish bags for women, or if they are travelers, Gatta Bag has some fine small leather bags that fit small cameras for adventures! Go for a classic, simple style and a quality material with enough space for their needs that will last for years!

ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHERS

Film Camera

Fuel their creativity with a film camera! Going back to classic film can be a breath of fresh air or a new learning experience for a digital photographer. You can find a fun, vintage 35mm film camera at a local antique shop, or invest in a newer film camera for them to enjoy experimenting with in their free time or travels! Try the Canon AE-1 with a portrait lens included for them to experiment with and don’t forget to get them some Portra 800 film to go with it!

Spa Treatments

During busy season, photographers are on their feet for hours a day and have sore shoulders and backs from lugging equipment, and if they are tall like me, squatting and bending constantly to get the right angles. Male or female, a massage treatment is always welcomed for sore muscles, facials, manis or pedis to treat themselves, or even time-saving beauty treatments like micro-bladed eyebrows, waxing services, hair and skin care treatments! Groupon has a ton of amazing deals to check out!

Loupedeck

The Loupedeck is an editing board that syncs with a computer and speeds up the editing process so your photographer has to spend less itme editing and more time with you! They can set the buttons and controls up with Lightroom editing software so the settings are all available to tweak at the touch of a button. It costs around $250 and has a ton of great reviews!! There is also another version available now as well on their website.

Apple Watch

If they don’t already have an Apple watch, this can come in so handy for shoots and wedding days. The Apple Watch Series 3 has cellular so they can use it independently from their phone. They can keep track of timelines and photo lists, and not have to carry their phone around on a shoot! This version retails for around $300, or upgrade to the Series 5 for $500 and they come in lots of colors and band styles to fit any photographer’s style and needs!

Got any other great gift ideas for the photographer in your life? Leave a comment below!!!