It happens every year, usually right after Thanksgiving. You start a list of what to get friends and family, but you always come up with a blank for that photographer in your life. After all you’re not a photographer and you don’t know what the best holiday gifts for photographers would be. Lucky for you I’ve compiled a list of some of the best holiday gifts for photographers.
The Platypod Mini Tripod
If the photographer in your life loves to landscape photography or even travel photography the Playpod Mini Tripod is a solid route to go for a gift. It’s lightweight and compact and can be used in a multitude of situations. It’s also perfect for places where tripods aren’t permitted. Even though the name says tripod and implies three legs and technically it has three legs, but it’s flat design would be considered deceiving based on having the tripod in the name. The Platypod Mini Tripod has three screws that can adjust the height and angle of the tripod and you can also buy accessories as well that will allow you to tie the Platypod around poles and trees.
Spiderpro Camera Holster
Wedding photographers and sports photographers as well, are on their feet 8 plus hour a day carrying their camera gear around. No one wants to have back and shoulder pain because their gear is so heavy and they have to lug it around for hours on end. This is where the SpiderPro Camera Holster comes into play. It’s a holster for your camera that attaches to a belt. The leaning over and slouching from all the gear’s weight on the shoulders and back will be a thing of the past. All the weight is distributed to the hip and legs area. I have one and I use it with a Think Tank Pro Speed Belt and it has made my day so much easier and enjoyable.
Memory Cards
You can’t go wrong with getting memory cards and they’re a great stocking stuffer. Photographers will tell you that you can never have enough memory cards. The two major brands to buy are SanDisk and Lexar. I prefer Lexar personally, but each photographer has their own preference. I would also caution from buying them from Amazon or Ebay. There are a lot of fakes being sold as legit memory cards. The best place to buy them is from B&H Photo.
KelbyOne Membership
With a KelbyOne membership, the photographer in your life has access to some of the best tutorials from the best photo professionals in the world. And it’s not just videos on how to take photos, but they also teach you how to edit them in Photoshop and Lightroom as well as tons of other programs, KelbyOne also has tours that comes to various cities across the US giving live instructed tutorials and that can be a great supplemental gift as well.
Lenspen
The Lenspen is a great tool every photographer needs. It cleans dust and dirt from the lenses, eye pieces and more. It’s lightweight and compact which is great for taking it everywhere they go.
External Hard Drive
Let’s face it, photographers need a place to store all their photos. Buying an external hard drive definitely helps with that. The best part is that a lot of the newer external hard drives are quite inexpensive and can hold a large amount of data such as 1TB or 2TB. Trust me, your photographer will be grateful for this gift come Christmas morning.
Foldio1
Have a photographer who is into product photography but doesn’t have the room big enough to make a studio? Well you can always buy them a portable light box like this one from Foldio. It’s easy to fold up when they’re done and its even easier to put together. It’s perfect for getting great product shots with no harsh shadows.
I could go on and one about which gifts are the best holiday gifts for photographers, but these should be a great starting point. Have your own idea for the best gifts for photographers? Leave them in the comments below.