7 is my favourite number this year, so if you are looking for some small items or stocking stuffers for your photographer friends, I have 7 great ideas for you!
Don’t fret if your loved one already has a camera. One of the wonderful things about photography is there is an endless number of add-ons and trinkets to spend your money on and keep you busy playing and learning new things.
While some people are very serious about their photography, a camera is a toy and even the pro’s know you have to play to be unique. So here are some items to encourage your photographer friend to have fun and stay creative.
1. Camera strap from Black Rapid $58.95
You don’t think a camera strap can encourage play? You gotta check out this trick strap. No one demonstrates this better than “The Fro” at FroKnowsPhoto.com. Check out his video review.
You have to give this company props for designing the first camera strap specifically for women. It has a sleek curve in the front making it much more comfortable for women carrying the camera diagonally across the chest.
They are widely available in the states, but in Canada it might be too late to order it for Christmas.
2. Neutral Density Filter – from $40 – $300 depending on brand
Photographers can have great fun with long exposures using one of these neutral density filters. They filter out 8 to 10 stops of light allowing the shutter to stay open longer. This is great for blurring ocean waves or clouds giving a silky smooth effect for daytime photography.
3. Fingerless Gloves – $10 and up (I found some for $10 at The Bay)
Night photography is a blast! The trick here is staying warm while still being able to use all the buttons on your camera.
These gloves are perfect since your fingers are free to access the buttons, you can cover them up with the mitten cover while you are waiting for those long exposures to finish, and the palm and thumb grips ensure you don’t drop your camera.
4. 50mm f1.8 lens – $140
With it’s ultra-shallow depth of field, this lens is a real toy allowing you to get some great effects with only a very small portion of your image in focus and rest a beautiful soft blur.
This one is high on my list and the first thing I will buy after Christmas unless Santa brings me one.
5. Lensbaby – $299 for the composer, $199 for the muse
Lensbabies are tilt-shift lenses that give photos a dreamy quality by having a sweet spot of focus surrounded by graduated blur.
It is similar to a lens that offers shallow depth of field, but with much more control over the “sweet spot” and allowing you to tilt affecting the … well sometimes it is just easier to see it than explain it. Look here for examples in this flickr group.
5. LensPen – $14.99
No photographer should be without one.
Includes a handy dust removal brush on one end and on the other a flexible chamois tip impregnated with a carbon compound that is the best at removing nasty fingerprints from lenses and filters.
6. Speedlight – $199 – $450 depending on brand and power
Open up the world of flash photography with a speedlight that can be used on or off camera, by itself or bounced off or through an umbrella.
7. Craft and Vision e-books – $5 each
Craft and Vision has a stunning collection of e-books that focus on creativity, storytelling, understanding light and more. Authored by some of the worlds greatest photographers such as David duChemin and Michael Frye you cannot go wrong here, so pick away, your friend will love them.
This is nice list, thanks for posting it. Several things there I will get.
Very good list. Definitely will get the 50mm lens and the glove after Christmas.
After experienced travel shooting during snowing, I know this pair of gloves si exactly what I needed…