Christmas Gift Recommendations for Photographers 2024
Do you need help with Christmas present ideas for the photographer in your life?
Hi, my name is Rich Dyson from Edinburgh Photography Workshop, and this is Coffee Break Photography.
It’s just a couple of weeks until Christmas Day, and this is when I start to panic about the presents I will give to the special people in my life. If you know a photographer (or if you are a photographer and want to share some ideas with your loved ones), then there are lots of things you can surprise them with. And, even better, they don’t have to cost a fortune. These are my suggestions for Christmas presents for photographers for 2024.
Let’s start with something relatively cheap for people interested in Landscape photography. There are so many great locations around the world, but often, you don’t know how to get there or the right time of the day to shoot. That’s where these excellent guides from FotoVue come into their own. I first came across them after buying the Scotland edition of the series by Dougie Cunningham. Also available in the series are guides for Northumberland, Iceland, and the Lake District, as well as city guides for Liverpool and London and any more locations.
The guides provide excellent information about the locations, recommendations for viewpoints, accessibility information, very detailed instructions on how to get there, and, as you would expect, some great photos. They start at around £20 and are a fantastic idea for landscape photographers.
As with all these ideas, I’ll share a QR code that will pop up on the screen for you to scan, which will take you directly to the best place to buy. I’ll also add a link below the video for those waiting until the end.
Next up is another idea for landscape photographers, but it is also helpful for wildlife snappers or anyone shooting outside in the cold. Here in Edinburgh, it is around three degrees Celsius at the moment. Keeping your fingers working at these temperatures and lower can be difficult. That’s where these fantastic gloves from Valleret will come in handy. I was given these Markhof Pro Version two gloves quite a few years ago, and they are still keeping me toasty. Earlier this year, I also treated myself to the Djuke gloves, designed for more urban shooters and made from a Goat Leather shell with 100% merino wool lining. All the gloves in the range have these handy magnetic finger caps on the thumb and forefingers, so you can easily fold back the tip of the gloves while shooting and then flip them back when walking around. I can take far more pictures in cold weather thanks to these Valleret gloves, and I would recommend them with prices starting at around seventy euros.
Here's a great stocking filler! Every digital photographer needs memory cards. I’ve found these ProGrade cards are some of the most reliable available. There are two numbers you need to look at when buying memory cards. The first is the amount of storage. This one is 128 gigabytes and will store around 1850 pictures on my Canon R5, which is more than enough for most people. The second number is really important if the photographer is shooting wildlife or sports, and that is the read/write speed. The higher the number is, the faster the card will write photographs onto the card. This 250 megabytes per second is generally good for the moving shots I take and is the top speed that ProDigital offers for SD cards. If you need to go faster, you’ll need to check if the camera supports other memory card types, such as CF Express type B cards, which write at a stunning 3 gigabytes per second. The standard SD cards start at around £55, and the faster cards begin at £300.
It would be a little remiss of me if I didn’t mention what I think is an excellent gift for UK-based photographers. I run photography workshops for all levels of photography. My Switch to Manual workshop aimed at new photographers is a popular choice for those who want to move from the Auto mode. My Night Photography session, aimed at slightly more advanced photographers, helps discover light in the city of Edinburgh after the sun has set. The Landscape and Seascape workshop is a twelve-hour experience shooting on the banks of the River Forth. All these workshops and my Virtual workshops can be purchased using Edinburgh Photography Workshop Gift Vouchers. Unlike some gift vouchers, I don’t put an expiry date on my gift cards, so you know when you gift a session, it isn’t going to run out by the end of March. Edinburgh Photography Workshop is number one on TripAdvisor for Lessons and Classes in Edinburgh, with over three hundred reviews. You know you’ll get a great experience if you come and join me. Vouchers can be bought for any amount you choose, but I recommend the £75 option to ensure the person receiving it can book onto either the Switch to Manual or Night Workshop without paying anything else.
Does the photographer you know use a tripod? If so, they will benefit from what I think is one of the best tripod heads on the market. The Platyball Elite tripod head and the slightly cheaper Ergo give you loads of controls thanks to these innovative buttons that loosen and tighten the head – great for cold weather conditions. I also like this dial here, which allows the head to be rotated for shooting panoramas, and because the head is turned upside down, you don’t have to spend ages levelling your tripod legs to shoot those panos. It’s a little pricey at around £200 for the Elite, but it’s worth it.
My final recommendation for this year is a camera strap. Yes, every camera usually comes with a strap, but I find them too thin and uncomfortable. I have been using these Slide straps from Peak Design for the last three years. The clever thing about them is that one side has a smooth feel and slides easily from hanging by your side to a shooting position. Turn the strap over; a rougher texture helps keep your camera from sliding off your shoulder and onto the floor. The lite version, ideal for mirrorless and smaller digital cameras, is £55, and the full-sized pro-grade version is just ten pounds extra at £65.
I hope you’ve found something here that you may want to buy for the photographer in your life. If you are a photographer, that little arrow button below the video allows you to share the video on WhatsApp, Facebook, E-mail, and many other platforms, so you can give a hint to anyone who might be buying you a gift. You can see that all of the recommendations are things I own and use, so you know these are worthy recommendations. Some of them are affiliate deals, which means I get a few pennies if you buy from them, but it doesn’t increase the price that you pay.
If you’ve enjoyed this video, it would be great if you could like it and share it by clicking on the thumbs-up button below the video. That way, a few more people will get to see it. You can also subscribe to the channel by clicking on this button here. I send out a monthly newsletter to my subscribers with news about photography, as well as exclusive offers. Scan this QR code to sign up. My name is Rich Dyson, from Edinburgh Photography Workshop, and this has been Coffee Break Photography. See you next time.
