2020 as a year totally sucks! And now our main family holidays are also going to be very different. Finding Christmas, Holiday, and Birthday Gift Ideas for Photographers can be a frustrating task at the best of times. Thankfully with Amazon and other online ordering shops it can probably be the easiest thing you’ve done this year. And you are now armed with my Photographer gift ideas for photographers, tools, checklists, and suggestions for 2020 based on my own shopping experience, and as the receiver of Christmas and birthday photography gifts for many years!
As a real gear geek, I’d love to let my friends and fam know what photography equipment I’d like as a gift. Heck, if they are buying a gift (which is lovely and I do not expect gifts, but just if they were…) this would be a list of gear and tech that any photographer would love to receive.
Technology changes so fast, and if you’re not a photographer it’s doubly hard to know what to buy. But you are going to be a shopping superstar in 2020. I’ve assembled a Christmas and holiday season shopping list of the coolest, most desired and some very unique gift ideas for photographers – in all budget ranges so you can delight the photographer in your life this holiday season.
Best 2020 Recommendations for photographer gifts
Photography Gear, best photography books, digital cameras, photography gadgets – I think I have it all covered! I know for sure that I would love to receive any of these items so I’m not recommending them “just because!” But rather because I know that the photographer in your life will be surprised, excited and wowed by your thoughtfulness. And these are current for this year too!
So enjoy reading through the many Christmas and birthday gift ideas for photographers, below, and be sure to download the Christmas and Birthday Gift Ideas for Photographers checklist, you can print it out and take it with you as you’re browsing through your local photography shop. But better yet, think about shopping online. With COVID all around us it’s better to keep yourself and loved ones safe. I’ve also linked to the best online camera shops, and photography equipment stores including Amazon so you don’t have to worry about buying camera equipment online.
Digital Camera Memory Cards
It’s the one thing ANY photographer will need more of – oh yea, and batteries! But first lets deal with the memory cards. If your photographer has a Nikon mirrorless camera such as the new Z6 Z7 and up, they’ll need XQD/CF Express cards. You don’t want to get the max amount of storage though, because if the card fails (very very unlikely) your photog will lose ALL their images. Buying several smaller memory size cards is a safer bet. This is a good deal: Sony QXD 64 for Nikon Z Mirrorless Cameras
Here is the full page reports on the best memory cards for Nikon Z mirrorless cameras.
GoPro Hero Awesome Wearable Camera
New GoPro HERO9 Waterproof Action Camera. These are tiny video/still cameras for the active photographer and extreme sports enthusiast. I’m not a super extreme sports person, but I do enjoy mountain biking and more recently hang gliding, which could be called an extreme sport! Check out my GoPro hang gliding video here.
But even if your photographer is into tennis hockey, skiing, snow boarding, skate boarding, water skiing, etc they will totally appreciate this little wearable camera which documents their sports and outdoors events in HD quality. It is also an amazing time lapse photography camera, and because it’s enclosed in a waterproof weather-proof housing, your photographer can set it up outdoors and capture stunning time lapses of the night sky, flowers opening, activities over time in any environment. It’s also got voice activation so if they are not bashful, they won’t be bothered by the weird looks, when they are seen talking to their camera!!!
This was the main reason I bought mine, but I came to also love it for the HD video.
Gopro accessories
If your photographer already has a GoPro® HD he or she will definitely want some of the cool accessories that are available. These are relatively inexpensive so if you have a budget this year, you’ll still be able to delight without getting a bank loan!!
My favorites are the tripod mount, the chest strap (to wear the camera around your chest, when a helmet just won’t work), and handlebar bike mount.
Nikon 10.5 mm Fisheye Lens
It’s not a cheap Christmas or holiday gift, but if your photographer has a lot of lenses but not at super wide fisheye they will adore you for getting them this. Here are a few types of fisheye lenses for your photographer:
Nikon makes a 1o.5 mm fisheye lens
Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye for Canon DSLR cameras
Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye Lens for Digital SLR Cameras
Sigma – Nikon 1.7 x tele converter
For a tiny investment, the photographer gets the equivalent of 2 lenses! The tele extender will work on most any lenses too, so you needn’t worry if the extender will fit, just make sure the one you buy is designed for the make of camera your photographer has. If s/he’s a Nikon DSLR shooter, get her a Nikon extender or one with a Nikon mount.
I use the Nikon 1.78X tele-extender, it’s about half the cost of a 2X tele-extender but gives almost as much power. Plus it lets in more light so the shutter speeds can be faster in lower light situations. If you don’t know what that all means, it really is just that your photographer will be able to use the lens and extender in more environments without using a flash. And most of us nature photographer don’t really like using the flash. 🙂
Ultra Bendy Mini Tripods
If you read any of my website pages, you know I’m a big fan of tripods – they help you extend your shooting time and diversify your shooting locations by allowing you to use slow shutter speeds for all sorts of special effects as well as to use the sweet light of dawn and dusk to make dramatic photos.
A mini tripod is very small, fits on a table or car hood or roof and can easily go in the photographers gadget bag without adding any significant weight. What a great gift!
I really like my gorrilapod mini tripod – they are funky looking but work! It has bendy legs that allow it to wrap around all kinds of obstacles and structures. Awesome for nature and infrared photography!
Camera beanbags
They are very popular for wildlife photography especially on safaris where you have to stay in a vehicle to take your photos. See the LensCoat SkimmerSack Camera Beanbag
If you are into making your own gifts for photographers, you can easily make your own camera beanbag, with fabric chosen especially for your photographer! How cool is that. Click here (coming soon) to see some patterns that you can download for a custom DIY camera beanbag. Your photographer will cry with joy and emotion knowing you crafted something totally unique just for them with your own hands. Camera beanbags are wonderfully thoughtful gift ideas for photographers.
Camera covers for nature and outdoor photographers
Photographers Umbrella
September is Black & White Photography Month