What Gift Do You Buy For a Photographer?

Before you buy a gift for a photographer you need to know this one thing; they are extremely picky!

That’s not an insult, it’s just a fact, and one I’ve learned because I first noticed it in myself. But I’ve got the secret to finding the perfect gift for the photographer or videographer in your life. So keep reading.

Are you looking for the perfect Christmas gift for a photographer? Maybe it’s a birthday gift for someone that loves photography, or just a thank you gift for a photographer. What would they want?

Think about it. A photographer is willing to spend hours waiting for the lighting to be just right; get down on the ground or climb high just to get the right angle, or spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a camera lens.

If you still don’t believe me, go read through some photography discussion forums. You’ll also see really quickly that photographers tend to be opinionated. Although if you know a photographer you may already know that 🙂

Jump to our list of the best gifts for any type of photographer

Don’t get me wrong, I’m NOT saying photographers are narcissistic or always perfectionists. Personally I’m quite shy and content to keep to myself. While other photographers are more adventure seeking and charismatic. There’s no specific personality model that fits all photographers.

This also means there’s no single gift that will be perfect for all photographers. However, regardless of their personality type, you can find the perfect photographer gift by using one of the three category types below.

If you want you can jump straight down to the lists, or keep reading to really get an understanding of how to pick put the perfect gift:

• Photography Gear Gifts
• Practical Photography Gifts
• Photography Gifts that Spark Creativity

The Secret to Finding the Perfect Photographer / Videographer Gift

So, do you want to know the secret to buying a gift for a photographer? It’s really simple, be picky!

That’s right, it’s like the old saying, “if you can’t beat them, join them.”

I’m no mind reader, but if you’ve taken the time to search something like; “What to get someone who loves to take pictures?” or “What do you buy a nature photographer?” then you’re having a hard time finding a gift for the photographer in your life.

Maybe it’s a mom or a dad that loves photography. A boyfriend or girlfriend that has picked up doing some photography. Or you’ve got a friend that is a photographer and helped you out with something, so you want to buy them a thank you gift.

Whoever it is, I promise they will appreciate a thoughtful present over just some gimmicky gadget.

To put this article together and create these lists of photographer gifts, we‘ve looked through hundreds and hundreds of items and other’s recommendations. There are good ones out there. However, there are also some long lists, filled with just about any item that might be associated with photography so that they can say something like, “Over 100 of the best photography gifts…”

All I found there was a slow loading page, annoying popup ads, and with a long list of gift ideas that I was guessing at whether they would be good or not.

Remember, the secret to finding that perfect present for a photographer is to be picky. That means they have something in mind that they really would want.

In order to help you ‘filter’ out hundreds of items you DON’T WANT to buy, we’ve found these three categories make it really easy to ‘focus’ in on what you want (Filter and Focus puns intended).

How to Pick the Perfect Photographer Gift

Using these three categories of gifts makes it really easy to narrow in on a gift that your videographer or photographer will love. It doesn’t matter if you are looking for a birthday gift for a photographer, a special Christmas present, or just a meaningful thank you gift. We’ll quickly discuss the why behind each category and then we’ll get into the lists for each.

Photography Gear and Videography Equipment

This is really the gift that every photographer wants! It’s also the one gift you can’t really buy for them. But wait, isn’t this a photography gift idea post?

Remember that we learned photographers are picky. This is especially true when it comes to their gear.

They want it, but they want to pick it out.

So just go with that. Unless they have specifically told you want they want, don’t try to buy them any sort of photography gear.

This means no cameras, lenses, studio lighting, camera bags, etc. If you did buy them this stuff I’m sure they would be grateful, but they would also be wishing you’d gotten them ‘that other one’ that did that slightly different thing.

This doesn’t mean you should skip this gift category, just that you can support their ‘addition to photo gear’ in a different way.

Again, this category is the gift they really want.

While it sometimes has a reputation of being ‘the gift because you couldn’t think of anything else’, a gift card is really a perfect option here.

For most, your gift budget is going to be modest, so you weren’t going to splurge for that $1500 lens anyway. So a gift card helps lower the cost they were going to put towards that anyway.

It doesn’t have to be boring and so our gift idea list below gives some creative ways to look at this as well as some tried and true gifts that they will love.

Practical Photographer Gifts

A lot of photography gift idea lists go into lots of gimmicky items that claim to solve various issues. These are often hit and miss.

Finding a practical present for a photographer is a little bit harder because you have to know a little bit about the type of photography they do.

If you’re not a photographer this may not make any sense, but you wouldn’t want to buy an ND filter for a portrait photographer. But an ND filter might be a great gift option for a landscape or nature photographer. However, at that point you need to make sure you are getting a filter that will fit their lens. Hence again, why we mentioned above that we don’t recommend buying specific gear.

Our list below of practical photography gifts will cover what types of photography they would be best for. This will make it easy for you to identify if it might be right for the photographer you know.

Since we are getting a little more specific here, we also provide free gear advice. So, if you have a question about what to get, don’t spend hours searching, just ask us.

Gifts that Spark Creativity

This category is a little bit looser than ‘practical gifts’ because the idea is getting them something they might not have thought to buy themselves.

With this list we focus on unique photographer gifts. A gift that they may not buy themself but none the less they will have fun using.

In this list we’ll focus more on budget. We’ve selected cheap photographer gifts under $25 all the way up to more expensive anniversary, Christmas, or birthday photographer gifts.

All of these options are pretty universal in sparking creativity in the photographer you love.

Although Best Photography Gear will get a commission if you purchase a particular product/service through our affiliate links we only post items that we feel are high quality and would meet the intent of your search.