Gifts for Photographers: A Pro's Picks by Budget (2026)

If you have a photographer or a photography lover in your life to buy for, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve been taking photographs for over thirty years, working as a professional travel photographer since 2010, and I teach the craft to thousands of students through my online photography course. In that time I’ve been given (and given) most of the gifts on this list, so I’ve got a pretty good sense of what actually gets used and what ends up forgotten in a drawer.

Quick take: if you just want the headline picks, a spare memory card or a lens cleaning kit is the safe budget buy at under $25, and it’ll always get used. Spend a bit more and a good travel tripod (the Peak Design Travel Tripod is the one I reach for) or a proper camera bag like the Vanguard Alta Sky are the gifts that are still in use years later. And if you’re really splashing out, an experience like a photography workshop or a scenic flight beats another gadget every time.

Here’s the shortlist by budget, before we get into the detail:

Budget tier	Price range	Our top pick	Best for
Budget	Under $50	Memory card or lens cleaning kit	Any photographer, any camera
Great value	$50 to $100	Spare battery or photography gloves	Photographers who shoot outdoors
Mid value	$100 to $250	Instant camera or my photography course	Adding fun, or a real skill boost
Higher value	$250 to $600	Peak Design Travel Tripod or a Vanguard bag	Keen hobbyists who shoot often
High value	$600 and up	A workshop, a new lens or a new camera	Serious hobbyists and pros

We’ve divided this list by budget tiers so that you can find something for any budget whether you have $10 or $2,000 to spend on your favourite shutterbug.

Gifts range from budget-friendly useful camera accessories to waterproof clothing to once-in-a-lifetime photography trips.

Every recommended gift is rated by the skill level of the photographer we think it would be best suited for.

Each gift is rated as being good for a beginner (someone passionate but relatively new to photography), intermediate (someone who has been doing photography for at least a couple of years), or advanced level photographer (someone who had been doing photography for a long time, maybe a long-time hobbyist or professional).

We also realise that you may or may not know much about the skill level of the photographer, their photography, or their photography equipment. So we also rate each gift suggestion by how well you need to know the photographer and their equipment.

For example, buying something like a filter set would require the photographer to know how to use the filters, and would also require you to know some specifics about their camera equipment so you don’t get the wrong size filters. So this would be for a more intermediate to advanced photographer, and you would need to have a fairly good knowledge of the person’s camera equipment.

The good news is, whichever of these photography gifts you decide to go for, the photographer receiving the gift is going to love it! If you have any questions about any of these items or what might be best for a certain type of photographer, just leave us a comment in the Comments section at the end of this article and we’ll try to help.

Let’s take a look at some of the best gifts for photographers available today, whatever your budget. We’ve ordered the sections by price, from least expensive to most expensive.

Table of Contents:

How to Buy for a Photographer When You Don’t Know Their Kit

Some of the best gifts on this list depend on the exact camera the photographer owns. A spare battery, a remote shutter release, a lens hood, and lens filters all have to match a specific make, model, or lens size, and getting the wrong one means a return trip to the shop. Other gifts, like a bag, a strap, a course, or an experience, work no matter what they shoot.

If you don’t know their kit, there are a few easy ways to find out without giving the game away. The make and model is usually printed on the top or the front of the camera, so a quick photo of it while they’re not looking tells you what you need. Filter and lens-hood sizes are printed on the lens itself, next to a ø symbol (a 67mm lens reads “ø67”). And a mutual friend or family member can often check for you.

It’s also worth a quick sanity check that they don’t already own it. Photographers accumulate memory cards, cleaning kits, and cheap tripods, so if in doubt, lean towards the gifts further down this list that are hard to have too many of, or towards an experience they definitely won’t have already.

Budget Gifts for Photographers (Under $50)

All these gifts are inexpensive, but despite their small price point, we think the photographer in your life will love them! These are a mix of practical, technical, and fun gifts.

Photography Themed T-shirt

What better way to share a love of photography with the world than with a fun photography themed t-shirt?

There are a lot of designs to choose from, from understated to geeky, so just pick the one you think best suits the person you’re buying for.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: No photography knowledge, just the shirt size of the recipient.

Camera Lens Hood

A piece of equipment that is always in our lenses is a lens hood. A lens hood is an extension that fits to the end of a lens, and they perform two main functions in our experience. First, they help reduce glare when shooting on sunny days (they’re also often called sun hoods), and second they provide valuable extra protection to our lenses.

Lens hoods come in all sorts of sizes, and you need to match the lens hood to the lens you are buying it for, so you will need to know a bit about the camera you are purchasing for. They’re also only suitable for mirrorless or DSLR cameras.

Best for: Intermediate- Advanced
Knowledge you need: You will need to know the size and type of lens so you can get the right hood. Once you know this, searching for “lens type” + “lens hood” should get you the right product.

Remote Shutter Release

A really neat photography accessory, a remote shutter release lets a photographer take a picture remotely, without having to press the shutter button on the camera. It essentially acts as a wireless shutter remote.

This is great for all sorts of uses, from taking self-portraits or selfies when a camera is mounted on a tripod (it’s far more effective than the self-timer option!), as well as removing the risk of small camera movements when shooting longer exposures.

If you decide to buy a remote shutter release, you’ll need to know the make and model of the camera you’re buying for. For example, this model works for Canon cameras, and this one is for smartphones. Here’s a list to get you started.

Best for: Intermediate – Advanced
Knowledge you need: Detailed, as the remote release usually needs to match the model of camera

Microfibre Cloths

As a photographer, I can literally never have enough microfibre cloths to keep my lenses clean. Somehow, they’re always accumulating smudges and other dirt, which can really impact image quality.

You can help the photographer in your life by getting them this pack of microfibre cleaning cloths, so they’ll always have one or two handy, wherever they are. These will work for every camera, from a smartphone or point and shoot, through to a mirrorless or DSLR.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: None, will work with every camera system!

Hand-warmers

Know someone who likes winter photography or lives somewhere cold? Well, they’ll definitely thank you for these hand warmers, which are air activated, and provide heat for up to ten hours.

They also work to help keep lenses from misting over, which can happen if shooting at night in humid environments, when the cool night air can cause a camera lens to fog over – ruining long exposure night shots. Attaching these to the lens body with a rubber band can help solve this problem.

There are a number of versions of this product. These are single-use and well reviewed, but you can also get them in a re-usable format.

Best for: Beginner to Advanced
Knowledge you need: None

Location based photography guide

If you know that the person you are buying a photography gift for is heading to a specific location, then you might consider buying them a photography guide to that location.

This will help them plan in advance where they might want to go to get specific shots and should result in a more fruitful trip. Guides tend to be written for the most popular photography locations – for example, this guide to photographing Yosemite is one we always recommend.

Bonus tip – we actually have a series of free photography location guides to destinations around the world which you can recommend as well! See them here.

Best for: Beginner to Advanced
Knowledge you need: Where their next trip might take them – or where they really want to visit!

Lens Cleaning Kit

Anyone who has a camera will know that keeping them clean is an important task. So you can help out the photographer in your life by gifting them this inexpensive lens cleaning kit.

It has everything they’ll need to keep their camera clean, including an air blower, microfibre lens cleaning cloths, cleaning fluid, and a special lens cleaning pen.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: Limited, best for photographers using mirrorless and DSLR cameras

Memory Cards

Memory cards are another accessory a photographer can never have enough of. Imagine being out shooting and filling up your memory card – then missing a great shot because you had no room to save it!

Well, you can save this from happening by buying a memory card as a gift. The vast majority of cameras use SD memory cards, which come in a variety of sizes and speeds.

Our suggestion is to go for at least a 128GB card with a V30 (or UHS-I U3) speed rating, like this one from SanDisk. These are well priced and quick enough for both photos and 4K video, and they’ll work in nearly every camera from a compact to a mirrorless or DSLR. For our full picks, see our guide to the best memory cards for photography.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: Minimal, nearly every camera will accept these

Waterproof camera cover

In an ideal world, cameras would be resilient waterproof workhorses, capable of handling whatever the elements might throw at them.

Unfortunately, we don’t live in that world, and whilst some cameras might have an element of weather resistance, only a handful of expensive specialist cameras are fully weatherproof. With that in mind, for the photographer who likes to get out into the world whatever the weather, this waterproof cover is a winner.

Note that there are various sizes depending on the size of the camera, but my advice if you are unsure is just to buy the larger one.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: Minimal, although an idea at least of the type of camera you are buying for will help inform as to the size of cover you need.

Camera themed jewellery

For the slightly more stylish photographer in your life, why not consider some camera themed jewellery and apparel? Charm bracelets like this can be personalised with different charms.

There are lots of options out there, from camera-shaped pendants through to nifty photography themed cufflinks, and most of them are fairly inexpensive too.

For handmade and custom pieces we recommend Etsy, and you can see an awesome selection of photography themed accessories here. We also have a guide to travel jewellery which might also give you some ideas.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: None

Camera Case

Keeping our gear safe whilst we’re out and about is important, and the best way to do that is with a camera bag.

These come in all sorts of sizes and price points, depending on the size of the camera and any other lenses the photographer might want to carry.

For example, this case is for more compact camera setups like a compact or small mirrorless camera, while this one will fit larger sized cameras. You can also get backpack style cases like this.

We also have a more premium option further down in the post, but it’s also possible to pick up a reasonable value case at a budget price point.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: The camera bag will need to match the photographer’s equipment and what they like to carry around with them, so you’ll need to know what that is likely to be.

Interest based guide book

If you have a photographer in mind for a gift, and you know that they have a passion for a certain type of photography, you might want to pick them up a book about that subject.

For example, a passionate bird photographer might enjoy a bird guide, whilst a cityscape photographer might enjoy a guide to architecture.

Best for: Intermediate to Advanced
Knowledge you need: What photography subjects they are interested, you should be able to tell from their most shared photos

Manfrotto Pixi Tripod

One thing that every serious photographer needs is some kind of tripod. And whilst tripods can cost a lot, you can also pick up mini tripods like this Manfrotto Pixi model.

This tripod is perfect for smaller cameras like compact cameras or smaller mirrorless and DSLR cameras. It’s also ideal for travellers who don’t want to carry too much, as it’s so small and portable.

It can also be made compatible with smartphones with this smartphone adaptor.

Having a tripod will open up a whole new world of photography options, from better self-portraits through to long exposure, night time and HDR photography.

We have other tripod options further down in the post at different price points, but you can also check out our tripod buying guide for more ideas. We also have a guide to the best gifts for travellers, which you might find helpful for finding a gift for the traveller in your life.

Best for: Beginner – Intermediate
Knowledge you need: Limited, will work with nearly every camera. May be too small for larger heavy DSLR cameras and lenses though so if they have a large camera, consider a larger travel tripod.

Amazon Basics Tripod

If you think the photographer in your life is likely to commit to carrying around a larger tripod, but you don’t want to spend a lot of money, then Amazon actually have an excellent line in basic tripods, part of the AmazonBasics range.

For example, you can pick up this 60-inch AmazonBasics lightweight tripod. Despite its low price, it still has features like bubble levels to help ensure it is level, and a quick release plate to make mounting and releasing the tripod more easy. See the full range of AmazonBasics tripods here.

Best for: Beginner – Intermediate
Knowledge you need: Limited, will work with nearly every camera. May not be suitable for the largest professional level equipment.

Camera Lens Coffee Mug

Pretty much everyone likes coffee (or tea, or hot chocolate!), so why not get the photographer in your life a fun mug that happens to look like a well known lens!

There are quite a few of these on the market, but we like this more premium option as it has an insulated stainless steel interior, a screw-on no-spill lid, non toxic ABS plastic exterior – and even a free spoon! Works for hot and cold beverages.

It’s the highest rated and best reviewed camera lens cup we could find, and this is the one we’d suggest you go for.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: None, this is perfect for everyone!

Great Value Gifts for Photographers ($50 to $100)

Moving up a price bracket now, and into gifts that will cost you a bit more but not break the bank. Again, a mix of practical and fun gifts in this selection.

Spare batteries

Running out of memory is one thing – at least you can go back through your photos and delete a couple of duds in order to free up space.

Batteries on the other hand don’t work that way – once it’s flat, it’s done for the day until you get back to your charger. So we always carry a spare battery or two when we’re out shooting, to avoid this happening. On the same theme, a travel power bank makes a thoughtful gift for any photographer who shoots away from the mains.

Batteries are specific to the camera model, so make sure that you invest in the right battery for the camera the photographer has. Here’s a list to get you started.

Best for: Beginner to Advanced
Knowledge you need: You will need to know the specific model of camera you are buying for as batteries are specific to different cameras.

Hat / scarf

If you know a photographer who likes to head out and do winter photography, then you can help make their time spent outside in cold weather a lot more comfortable by buying them some clothing to keep them warm.

Of course, you could buy items individually or pick up a set of warm weather items to include the essentials like a warm hat or trapper hat, and neck warmer.

Tastes of course vary, but our advice would be to try and ensure items are at least windproof if not also waterproof or water resistant. We also like hats that cover our ears when we’re out in the coldest conditions. To complete the set we’d also suggest picking up some photography specific gloves, which you can read about in our next entry.

Best for: Beginner to Advanced
Knowledge you need: Whilst some items are one size fits all, you will get the best fit for the hat if you have an idea of the required size.

Photography Gloves

Finding a great glove for photography is a real challenge. It’s really hard to operate a camera with gloves on, so the two main options are fingerless gloves, or gloves where the fingers detach in some way. Otherwise you have to keep taking your gloves off and on, which gets old quickly when out in the field.

We’d suggest avoiding fingerless gloves for anything but the mildest temperatures, as they are less likely to keep your fingers really warm. Instead, find a pair of gloves that has detachable fingers so buttons and dials can be adjusted quickly.

There are a number of options on the market. These are a good pair specifically designed for photography, with a warm merino wool lining and magnetic finger caps, and are the pair that I own.

The company that makes them specialises in winter photography gloves, and they have a wide range of options, depending on the weather conditions. The pair I own are good for fairly cold weather, but if the person you are buying for is travelling somewhere really cold with temperatures far below freezing, they have a range of other options including these and these.

Another, more budget-friendly option is a pair like these from Amazon.

Best for: Beginner to Advanced
Knowledge you need: For the best fit, you will want gloves that match the size of the person you are buying for, so you’ll need to know their hand size.

Framed photos

The rise of digital photography means that whilst we are taking more photos than ever before, we aren’t necessarily printing them out and displaying them.

To show how much you appreciate your friend’s photos, you could spend some time going through some of your favourite shots they’ve taken, printing them, and putting them in a nice frame or display for them to keep.

There are lots of framing options to choose from, and getting digital files printed is fairly simple, as most larger grocery stores and drug stores have photo printing facilities. Another option is to have canvas prints of their work created.

Of course, if your friend doesn’t have a collection of photos, there are lots of other ways to buy photos. For example, all our photos are available for you to buy here! So if you are buying a gift for a lover of travel, a nice travel themed image might make a great gift.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: Limited, just need access to relatively high-resolution versions of some of their better images

Lens Filters

Lens filters are pieces of high quality glass that generally screw onto the front of a cameras lens. They come in a variety of types, with some, like UV filters, just providing lens protection, and others, such as polarising filters, which change the look of an image. You can read more about lens filters here.

We’d suggest that a great gift for a photographer looking to try something new and protect their gear would be a filter kit, which includes a variety of filters, such as a clear UV filter for protection, a polarising filter to change the look of a scene, and a Neutral Density filter, for long exposure photography.

Lens filters come in all sorts of sizes, so you will need to know the filter thread size of the camera lens you are buying for. If you have access to the camera, this will be written on the lens somewhere, usually using the following symbol: ø. So, a 77mm lens thread would be something like ø 77. Most lenses are between around 40 and 80mm.

In terms of filters, there’s a wide range of filter brands available, from budget through to super expensive. Our tip would be to avoid the ultra-budget options and super expensive options and go for the middle ground. This filter kit for example, is from well known brand and we’re always happy with the filters they provide.

If you wanted to spend a bit less, you could just buy an individual filter like this one.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: Fairly specific knowledge – you will need to know the size of filter that the lens uses. This will vary for every lens, so you will want to purchase the kit for the lens the photographer uses most regularly. You also need to be sure they don’t have existing filters.

Camera Lens Ball

If you have a photographer in your life who enjoys making photos that are a bit different to the normal, or who you think might be inspired to do so, then you might consider investing in this lensball.

It’s an 80mm spherical crystal ball which allows users to create really neat effects, capturing the scene “inside” the glass ball as it were. It’s a good way to spark the creativity of any photographer, and will be a fun tool in their photography bag.

Note that this gift might not be appropriate for children and it can be dangerous as it magnifies the light from the sun. As a result it can become very hot and cause things to burn, so do read the instructions!

Best for: Beginner to Intermediate
Knowledge you need: None, will work with every camera from a smartphone to DSLR

Backup Storage Subscription

If the person you are buying a photography gift for is anything like us, they’ll likely have thousands and thousands of image files on their computer.

This gift will give them peace of mind for all their photos, by allowing them to securely back them up offline in a dedicated cloud storage account. The service we use and recommend is Backblaze, which offer unlimited backup of every file on your computer at a very reasonable price.

It’s what we use to back up all our files, and we highly recommend everyone use it or something like it. You can get buy it as a gift here. You can also read our guide to the best backup options for photographers for more ideas.

Best for: Beginner to Advanced
Knowledge you need: None, they just need a computer!

Mid-Value Gifts for Photographers ($100 to $250)

As well as all the above gifts, the below gifts will give you some ideas for what to buy for a photographer if you have a bit more to spend.

Again, these vary depending on the level of the photographer and how well you know their gear and interests, but you should find something to make a perfect photography gift in this section!

Flash Unit

If you know someone who might be interested in portrait or event style photography, or who is just looking to try something new, then you might consider buying them a decent flash unit for their camera.

Whilst many cameras come with a built-in flash unit, these tend to do more damage than good to photos, often giving results that are less than optimal, with uneven lighting results and often an overexposed subject against a poorly illuminated background.

If you want to do flash photography properly, you’ll need to invest in a more serious flash unit. These are available at various price points, and there are both first party models made by brands like Canon and Nikon for their own cameras, and third party units like Yongnuo which offer lower cost alternatives.

Best for: Intermediate – Advanced
Knowledge you need: The flash needs to be compatible with the camera model, so you’ll need to know the camera model you are buying for. Primarily suited to mirrorless or DSLR cameras, although some more advanced compact cameras will have a flash mounting point.

Lighting Kit

As all photographers know, great light is essential to great photos. For photographers who are looking to shoot portraits or photos of indoor products, a good indoor lighting set is going to be an essential piece of equipment.

There are a variety of lighting kits on the market, at a variety of prices. We’d advise picking up a kit that comes with all the necessary pieces of equipment, like the lights, umbrella and stands.

Note also that there is a difference between a light kit and a flash kit. A light kit will usually produce constant light to illuminate a scene, whilst a flash kit like this is designed to work with flashes, producing a short burst of illumination. Both are good options, but a flash kit will usually require additional purchases of the flashes to go with the umbrellas.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: Type of photography the photographer is interested in.

Instant Camera

The rise of digital has in some ways eroded the value of the individual photos we take. As there’s no real cost associated with pressing the shutter button, we can take multiple photos and so never value each one as highly as we used to with film.

The solution is an instant camera like the Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 (or the newer Instax Mini 41). It takes a picture and then instantly prints it, letting the photographer create physical memories they can share with friends and family on the spot.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: None, suitable for all types of photographer

A Decent Camera Strap

One of the most appreciated upgrades you can give a photographer is a decent strap for their camera. We use and love our Peak Design camera straps, which make wearing our cameras all day a viable and comfortable option.

These come in a variety of designs, from sling straps through to clutch straps. The main thing we like about the Peak Design system is its modular nature: how easy the straps are to get on and off the camera, and the fact that they’re compatible with our tripods.

They are a little bit pricey, but we don’t think cutting corners on the item that holds our camera away from the floor is a good idea. You can see our full Peak Design camera strap review here.

Another option of course if you prefer is a more stylised handmade camera strap, which will give the camera a bit more personality and style! You can see a selection of those here.

Best for: Beginner to Advanced
Knowledge you need: None, will fit with every camera that has a tripod mount, which is the majority of cameras. Probably best suited for mirrorless and DSLR cameras though.

Photo editing software

One aspect of photography that is key to great photos is the editing process. This used to happen in the darkroom, but now that we shoot digital files, all our editing happens on a computer.

Editing is a critical part of photography, especially if your photographer friend shoots in RAW, as they need to get those files into a format they can share with the world.

There are a variety of photo editing products on the market. Whilst our go-to is usually Adobe Lightroom, this requires an annual subscription which is relatively pricey. Instead, we suggest you consider the well-reviewed and popular standalone Luminar Neo product.

Luminar Neo is available as a one-time purchase from around $99, so you only need to buy it once, with no subscription required. (There is an optional subscription plan, but you don’t need it to use the software.) It has all the editing features a photographer needs to get started, and would make a great gift for any photographer.

If you want some other options, see our guide to the best photo editing software for ideas. We also have a guide to noise reduction software, which many photographers will likely appreciate.

Best for: Beginner – Intermediate (advanced photographers likely already have an editing tool)
Knowledge you need: You will just need to know if they already have an editing tool they prefer.

External SSD Hard Drive

As any travel photographer (like me!) will tell you, you can never have enough storage when you’re on the road to backup your photos.

The problem is that external hard drives have long been of the mechanical variety, meaning there’s a spinning disk inside the drive. That makes it very susceptible to failure, which becomes even more of a problem if you’re often travelling and it’s getting knocked about.

Thankfully, in the last few years a new technology has arrived to solve this problem – the Solid State Drive, or SSD. These work like flash drives or memory cards, in that there’s no moving parts, so they are far less likely to fail. They are also much faster at transferring files.

For a long time these were hugely expensive, but prices have now come down to the point where an external SSD is affordable enough, and of a large enough capacity, to make it a viable replacement for a more traditional mechanical external hard drive.

Our advice would be to pick up a 2TB or higher version, which should be enough to store photo and video files from a number of trips.

Best for: Beginner to advanced
Knowledge you need: No particular knowledge, these drives should work with most laptops and PCs out there.

Photography Course

Photography is a skill that, like any skill, takes time and effort to master. To help this process along, a great photography gift is the gift of photography knowledge!

There are a number of courses out there, but naturally we recommend the course that we have created. This course covers everything we know about photography, from how a camera works through to editing photos, and advanced techniques like long exposure and astrophotography.

The course offers lifetime access, so one purchase gets you all future updates.

Again, we think that for everything you get, the course is amazing value, and we’ve helped over 2,500 students improve their photography to date. Find out more, and buy the course here.

Best for: Beginner – Intermediate
Knowledge you need: None, suitable for all types of photographer

Photography vest

As photographers, we can tell you that there are never enough pockets in our clothes. Whilst we do have a camera bag of course, often you just want to pop out with your camera and a few accessories.

Of course, a few accessories means different things to different people, and once you’ve got your lens cleaning cloth, spare batteries, filters, and other bits and pieces, you start to realise you need more space.

Enter the photography vest. These are specially designed vests with a multitude of pockets to carry pretty much everything you could ever need.

Whilst there are lots of versions of these vests on the market, we like the SCOTTeVEST line of products. These don’t look like a photography vest, whilst being cleverly engineered to have multiple pockets and a load balancing system to make the whole thing more comfortable.

Best for: Intermediate to Advanced
Knowledge you need: Clothing size of photographer

Higher Value Gifts for Photographers ($250 to $600)

Now we have a series of gifts if you have more to spend, perhaps for a special occasion or if you just want to spend a bit more on someone special in your life.

Polaroid Digital to Analog Printer

If you know someone who loves the look of Polaroid images, but who perhaps doesn’t want a Polaroid camera, then they might enjoy this Polaroid Digital to Analog Photo Printer.

This clever device takes digital photos from a phone, and then prints them out in a Polaroid style. So you get all the cool retro looks of a classic Polaroid image.

This has a number of advantages over a Polaroid camera. Primarily, it saves you wasting previous Polaroid film (which is quite expensive) on images that aren’t any good. Instead, you can pick and choose the best images that you’ve already taken, proof them in the dedicated app, and only print your absolute favourites in the Polaroid style.

Of course, this system only works for folks who really want that retro Polaroid look. If you are buying for someone who just likes to print their photos, consider a mobile printer like this instead.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: Whether or not you think they’ll love the Polaroid style of images

Colourful Waterproof Jacket

One element of photography that can be easily overlooked is colour. Adding a splash of bright colour to a shot can really make the image pop.

Of course, not every scene will naturally have a bright splash of colour to use, but thankfully there is a way to solve this problem – by dressing ourselves in bright colours and putting ourselves in the photo!

We travel with bright colored clothing like waterproof hiking jackets, as these help make our photos that little bit more exciting. We’d advise bright colours like red, blue, yellow or orange would work well in most situations.

This is also a really practical photography gift, as it will keep the photographer dry and warm when they’re out and about in bad weather, even without their camera.

Prices definitely vary greatly, depending on size and brand, but we’d advise spending at least $75 for a jacket to ensure quality and longevity. Key features to look for are water and windproof jackets, with a down lining for warmth.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: Clothing size of photographer

Digital photo frame

We take so many photos now, but don’t spend as much time looking at them as we could. Well, one way to change this is with a digital photo frame.

These are essentially high quality screens that are designed to display digital images, essentially like a picture frame but with a wide selection of images to choose from. This is a great gift for a photographer, as they’ll finally be able to appreciate and display some of their favourite photos.

There’s a wide range of digital photo frames available, as you can see here. Pricing varies, with many models available in the $60 to $100 range, although the better rated models with built-in storage and features like video support, touchscreen access, and WiFi cost more, with higher end models available above that.

Best for: Beginner to Advanced
Knowledge you need: None, suitable for any photographer

A Carbon Fibre Tripod

Whilst there are cheaper tripods in this list, we think that if you have a bit more budget, a carbon fibre tripod makes for an awesome photography gift.

Carbon fibre tripods are, as the name suggests, made out of carbon fibre rather than a material like aluminium. This makes them lighter, and therefore ideal for travel and landscape photographers who might find themselves hiking a fair distance in order to get a shot.

There are many carbon fibre tripods on the market (see our guide to travel tripods here), but the one I reach for is the Peak Design Travel Tripod, which packs down remarkably small for a full-height tripod. As Vanguard ambassadors we’re also long-time fans of their VEO travel range and heavier-duty Alta Pro tripods, which you can pick up direct using our reader discount below.

For the full breakdown of my current favourite, see my Peak Design Travel Tripod review.

Discounted Price for Vanguard Products for our Readers!

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Best for: Intermediate to Advanced
Knowledge you need: Nothing specific, but is best suited to travel and landscape photographers who have a mirrorless or DSLR camera

Photography walk / workshop

One of my favourite ways to improve my own photography knowledge is to go out shooting with other photographers. I always learn a few things, and just seeing how other people frame a scene and see the world always helps me get better shots.

I’d suggest therefore that a good photography gift would be the gift of a local photography walk or hands-on workshop. Of course, availability will vary depending on location. If nothing is available locally, perhaps see if the recipient is heading to a destination where you can buy them a photowalk.

We find that for most larger cities around the world there will be the opportunity to take some kind of photowalk. Prices vary, depending on if these are one on one or group photowalks. You can see a selection of photowalks around the world on Viator here to give you an idea of pricing.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: Nothing specific

ND Filter Kit

Long exposure photography is a technique whereby a photography can use time to create images that look quite special, but capturing the motion of subjects in the image. This can create scenes where the motion of water or clouds is captured, for example.

To do long exposure photography in the day time, you need a set of neutral density filters to reduce the amount of light being captured by the camera, so longer exposures can be used. Depending on the available light, a different strength of filter will be needed.

Because of this, we’d advise picking up a neutral density filter kit, which will have a number of filters of different strengths. There are a range of kits on the market to choose from, and you can see our current picks in our guide to the best ND filters for travel photography. Aim to spend around $70 to $120 per filter, as otherwise you can end up with low quality glass that will reduce image quality and might cause strange colour issues.

Best for: Intermediate to advanced
Knowledge you need: Filters are specific to the size of the lens, so you will need to know the diameter of the lens (measured in mm) to purchase the correct size filter kit.

Darkroom Photography Kit + Guide

Before we went all digital, photography was a complicated chemical process involving rolls of film and hours spent in a darkroom.

If you know a photographer who might be interested in learning about this process, you can pick up this darkroom photography kit to get them started.

This would be the perfect gift for any photography fan who might be interested in learning a bit more about how film photography and darkrooms work, and is perhaps looking to dabble a bit!

Best for: Intermediate – Advanced
Knowledge you need: None, just that they would be interested in learning a little about darkroom photography.

A Great Camera Bag

Whilst you can buy camera bags at all sorts of price points, we’d say that if you want a really good camera bag that will last for years, you’ll likely be looking at spending a fair amount more for that kind of quality.

Our go-to bag for our travel photography kit at the moment is the Vanguard Alta Sky. This is large enough to fit two cameras with lenses, as well as a laptop, spare batteries, and a travel drone like the DJI Mavic. It has an awesome tripod carrying system as well, plus two side compartments for water bottles or another tripod.

Obviously, you’ll need to pick the bag based on the photographer that you’re buying for and their equipment, but we think Vanguard make some really good products that stand the test of time. See more of their camera bags here.

Best for: Intermediate – Advanced
Knowledge you need: What camera equipment they will likely want to carry around with them

Pair of High Quality Binoculars

If you know a photographer who likes to shoot wildlife, then you might consider getting them a nice pair of binoculars to accompany their photography gear.

This will fulfill a couple of function. First, a pair of binoculars is going to be easier to use to scan an environment to find a subject than a big heavy camera. Second, wildlife photographers are fans of wildlife in general – and so they will likely get a lot of use from the binoculars anyway, even when they are not actively taking pictures!

We have a pair of Vanguard binoculars which have served us well over the years, but there are lots of options out there to choose from at various price points.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: Best for photographers who are into bird and wildlife photography

High Value Gifts for Photographers ($600 and Up)

The last section of our gift guide for photographers covers the most premium gift ideas for photographers.

These would make really special gifts for the photographer in your life, and will either last a long time, or create memories and photos that will!

Sightseeing Flight

If you know a photographer who is perhaps headed somewhere like the Grand Canyon or another major sightseeing destination like New York, a fantastic present can be the gift of a sightseeing flight.

This will let them get a unique perspective for their photos, and let them get photos they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to get. There’s a wide range of flights available around the world, including cities like LA and New York, and major sights like the Grand Canyon or Victoria Falls.

For loads more inspiration, see this selection as an example of what’s available around the world!

Best for: Intermediate to Advanced
Knowledge you need: Nothing too specific

New Lens

If you know someone who already has a mirrorless or DSLR camera, then an excellent gift would be a new lens. If the camera they have came with a lens as part of a kit, the chances are that you could buy them a replacement lens for under $500 which would substantially improve the quality of their photos.

Alternatively, you could look to buy them a lens that gives them more creative options, and opens up new types of photography. For example, you might buy a telephoto lens to help them get into wildlife photography, a macro lens for macro photography, or a wide angle lens for landscape photography.

Lenses vary wildly in price, but we’d say that you should look to budget at least $250 for a new lens to get a good quality option. The best lenses often cost more than the camera body they are attached to! For more on lenses, with recommendations for all sorts of different camera types, see our guide to the best camera lenses.

Best for: Intermediate
Knowledge you need: Substantial – you need to know what camera they already have so you can buy a compatible lens, as well as what lenses they already have so you don’t duplicate an existing lens.

A Flytographer Tour

As many photographers will know, getting photos of yourself can be a real challenge. Even if you travel with a tripod, it’s hard to capture candid shots of yourself in the moment.

For this gift, the idea is to help your photographer friend or partner get some great photos of themselves, either while travelling or perhaps when they are out and about shooting.

We recommend the Flytographer service for just this purpose. They let you hire a photographer in locations around the world to get photos of you enjoying yourself. So let your photography friend take a break from being behind the camera for a bit, and let them capture some moments with them in for a change!

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: You just need to know a suitable location, perhaps based on an upcoming trip.

Compact Camera

If you know someone who wants to get into photography, but they don’t have a camera yet or the inclination to carry a larger one around with them, then we’d suggest picking them up a high quality compact camera.

Specifically, if you’re going to invest in a compact camera as a gift, look for a model with a 1-inch sensor and manual controls, as this gives more control and much better image quality than a phone. The point-and-shoot boom has pushed prices up over the last couple of years, so a current model like the Sony ZV-1 II or the Canon PowerShot G7X Mark III now sits at a premium price new. If you want to spend less, a good used copy is the smart buy and can save you a fair amount.

In addition, if you know a photographer who has a large camera, the chances are good that they will appreciate the gift of a more portable option.

This will mean they don’t have to carry their heavier equipment whenever they want to get a photo, but will mean they’ll still have a camera on them that they can slip into a pocket.

For more ideas and what is available, see our full guide to picking a compact camera here, as well as our guide to the best cameras for hiking and backpacking here.

Best for: Beginner – Advanced
Knowledge you need: Nothing specific, just be sure they don’t have one already

New Camera

If you know someone who is just getting into photography, or who is already a keen photographer but perhaps doesn’t have equipment to match their passion, then a fantastic gift would be the gift of a new camera.

As you would imagine, there is a fairly bewildering array of cameras on the market, at a massive variety of price points. Our suggestion would be to pick up either a mirrorless camera or a DSLR camera. To help you pick, we’ve put together guides to the best mirrorless cameras and best DSLR cameras on the market, as well as an overall guide to the best travel camera.

If they are adventure junkies, then you might consider an action camera. See our guide to the best action cameras for inspiration in that area.

We think between those posts you should be able to find something to suit, depending on your budget. As a guide, we’d suggest a starting point budget of around $400 to $700.

Best for: Beginner – Intermediate
Knowledge you need: Limited, but an idea of what camera they already have will guide you as to whether this is an appropriate gift

Drone

If you want to gift a photographer a unique perspective that they can’t get with their existing equipment, the answer is a drone! Whilst drones are often sold as being great for video, we’ve found that having a drone has let us take photos that we’d never be able to get otherwise.

There are a variety of drones available on the market at a wide variety of price points. We’ve used and can recommend DJI’s drones, which offer easy controls, good flight time and great image quality. The entry point is the DJI Mini 4K, with the Air 3S and the flagship Mavic 4 Pro stepping up in price and capability.

If the person you know already has a drone, then you might consider buying them some drone accessories to make their drone flying life better!

Best for: Intermediate to advanced
Knowledge you need: Nothing specific, just be sure they don’t already have one.

Laptop for Photo Editing

As mentioned earlier in this post, editing is an essential part of photography. The problem is that editing photos requires a pretty powerful computer, with many laptops not up to the task.

With this in mind, if you are feeling like giving a great photography gift, a laptop that is up to the task would make your photographer’s editing life a lot easier! There are a number of models on the market – our tips are to look for a model with at least 16GB of RAM, and SSD drive, and IPS display and a fast processor.

I used a Dell XPS laptop for years for photo editing and it served me well, though a current MacBook Air or Pro is what a lot of photographers reach for now. Rather than name one model that dates quickly, we keep a full, current guide to the best laptops for photo editing across both Windows and Mac to help you decide.

Best for: Intermediate to Advanced
Knowledge you need: Nothing too specific, but an idea as to whether or not they prefer Apple or Windows based computers will help you pick the right model

Photo tours

If budget is less of a consideration, and you want to get a really special gift, a specialist photography tour is a once-in-a-lifetime present they’d never forget.

Photo tours tend to be specialist guided tours to some of the most photogenic destinations in the world. They are usually quite expensive, but include guidance from expert photographers, and an itinerary that is focused around getting incredible photos.

There are various photography tour providers to destinations around the world. For inspiration, take a look at National Geographic’s Photography Expeditions, and this list of photography tours on TourRadar.

Best for: Intermediate to Advanced
Knowledge you need: Nothing too specific, but an idea of bucket list destinations for the photographer would be good

What Photographers Actually Want (From Someone Who Gets Given Gifts)

After doing this professionally for as long as I have, I’ve been given plenty of photography gifts, and I’ve learned which ones get used and which quietly gather dust. The pattern is fairly simple: the gifts that get used are usually the practical ones, like more storage, a better bag, or a spare battery, and the ones people remember are experiences rather than gadgets.

The gimmicky stuff (novelty lens mugs, the lens ball, camera-shaped jewellery) is good fun and makes a lovely small extra, but it’s rarely what a keen photographer reaches for day to day. If your budget is tight, a spare memory card or a lens cleaning kit will get more real use than a pricier novelty.

If you can stretch further, the two things almost every photographer appreciates are better storage (an external SSD or a backup subscription) and an experience that gets them shooting somewhere new. I’ve never heard anyone complain about having too much backup, and a photo walk or a scenic flight gives them something a gadget can’t: a reason to pick the camera up.

Gifts for Photographers: Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good gift for a photographer who already has everything?

Lean towards consumables and experiences rather than more gear. Even photographers with every lens still run out of memory cards, storage, and backup, so a fast external SSD or a Backblaze backup subscription is always welcome.

For something they can’t easily buy for themselves, a photo walk, a workshop, or a scenic flight gives them a new place to shoot and a memory to go with it.

What is the best cheap gift for a photographer?

Under about $25, you can’t go wrong with a spare memory card or a good lens cleaning kit. Every photographer uses both, they work with any camera, and you don’t need to know anything about their kit to get it right. Microfibre cloths and a set of hand warmers for cold-weather shooting make great stocking fillers too.

What should I get a beginner photographer?

Beginners get the most out of gifts that make shooting easier and more fun rather than complicated gear. A small travel tripod like the Manfrotto Pixi, a camera bag, or an instant camera all go down well.

The most useful gift of all, though, is knowledge. An online photography course teaches them to get more out of whatever camera they already have.

How much should I spend on a gift for a photographer?

You can find useful gifts at every price point. Under $50 covers accessories like cards, filters, and cleaning kits; $50 to $250 gets you an instant camera, a good strap, or a course; and above that you are into tripods, bags, cameras, and experiences. Match the budget to how serious the photographer is rather than trying to impress with the price tag.

What is a safe gift if I don’t know what camera someone uses?

Stick to gifts that don’t depend on the specific camera. Bags, straps, cleaning kits, memory cards (almost every camera uses SD cards), backup subscriptions, courses, and experiences all work regardless of make and model.

Avoid batteries, lens filters, lens hoods, and remote shutter releases unless you know exactly what they shoot, as those have to match the camera.

Are experiences better gifts than gear for photographers?

Often, yes. A photo walk, a workshop, or a scenic flight gives a photographer a new location, new techniques, and photos they’ll actually remember taking, which is something more gear can’t do. If the photographer already has plenty of equipment, an experience is usually the more memorable gift.