Please the photo enthusiast in your life with one of these welcome gifts at a range of prices.
PC hardware is nice, but it’s not much use without innovative software. I’ve been reviewing software for PCMag since 2008, and I still get a kick out of seeing what’s new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine, the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft win and misstep up to the latest Windows 11.
Few types of people are more gear-obsessed than photographers. There’s always something to drool over, whether it’s a new camera body with a better image sensor or a new lens that’s lighter and more light-gathering. Many of these desired gadgets reach into four-figure prices, but you don’t have to spend that much to please a shutterbug. And a great gift for a photographer doesn’t necessarily have to be a piece of equipment you can hold in your hand. It can be photo editing software, for example.
Here are our favorite photography-related gifts for every budget.
Fast, High-Capacity Photo Storage
A welcome gift for any digital photographer is media for taking pictures. Some people no longer bother transferring photos to a computer. Instead, they save photos right on their memory cards, meaning they can never have too many. The SanDisk Extreme SDXC represents a sweet spot of capacity, speed, and price. If you’re buying for someone with a basic camera, a UHS-I card like this will be fine; if your Secret Santa uses a high-speed camera, they’ll appreciate a quicker UHS-II card, but be warned, that usually adds about $100 to the price.
Lens Attachments That Spur Creativity
Lensbaby makes a whole lineup of lenses and filters that deliver fun optical effects for any photography enthusiast that range in price from about $50 to $450. The Lensbaby Omni Creative Filter is one of the most affordable—and the most fun. It screws onto a filter thread, and then you attach “wands” for a variety of effects. The Lensbaby Omni Creative Filter System comes with three attachments: Stretch Glass, Crystal Seahorse, and Rainbow Film. Playing with color alterations and different bokeh styles will be a blast for your gift recipient.
A Tiny Photo Printer Small Enough for Travel
At just 2.5 by 7 by 5.4 inches (HWD) and 2.5 pounds, this mini printer doesn’t take up a lot of luggage space, making it great for photographers who travel. While some tiny printers from Kodak and HP only support wireless connectivity to a smartphone, the Canon Selphy CP1500 lets you plug in an SD card and uses dye-sublimation technology for superior print image quality. Any photographer who travels will appreciate its small size and optional battery power. It can print in four different sizes (unlike those tiny rivals, which only print one size), and the print media is cheaper, too.
A Retro Film Camera
Like vinyl phonograph records, film photography is having something of a renaissance. The new-for-2022 Kodak Ektar H35 Half Frame camera uses standard 35mm film, though just a half frame at a time, meaning a 36-roll will let you shoot 72 photos. This also means your photos are in portrait orientation rather than the standard 35mm landscape—perfect for portraits! It comes in four colors: Black, Sage, Brown, or Sand.
An Affordable, High-Quality Desktop Photo Printer
Anyone proud of their work in the photographic genre delights in seeing it displayed on the wall, rather than just on a smartphone screen. Sure, you can use a photo printing service, but that means waiting for your prints, and doing it yourself brings added satisfaction. The Epson Expression Premium XP-7100 Small-in-One Printer won’t break your gift-giving budget, and it delivers high-quality prints using five ink colors. The device serves well as a standard printer, too, with an auto-duplexing automatic document feeder for printing, copying, and scanning two-sided documents without user intervention. Not only that, it also has connection options for every device type you could want.
An Instant Camera for Instant Photo Gratification
Though digital photographers already can see their work instantly on the back of their cameras, being able to produce a tangible photograph on the spot is priceless, offering a different sort of satisfaction than tons of megapixels. The Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 is one of the most affordable of the bunch. For more recommendations, check out our list of the best instant cameras.
A Versatile, Affordable Flash
From a maker of professional studio lighting gear comes this portable, rechargeable flash that you can point up or forward and use on- or off-camera (with the $69 XPro TTL transmitter). The round shape gives a studio-like light, and it supports automatic TTL metering and High Speed Sync (HSS) at 1/8,000-second. A fun attachment set that costs $60 includes a diffuser dome, barn doors, a grid, a reflector card, a collapsible snoot, and gels. Be sure to get the version that matches your gift recipient’s camera; the Godox V1 is available for Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Micro Four Thirds, Pentax, and Sony systems.
A Strong, Secure Strap
All photographers should always shoot with a strap around their neck or midriff so that they don’t drop and damage a very expensive DLSR or mirrorless camera. I confess that I usually use the strap that came with my camera, but PCMag’s camera analyst Jim Fisher recommends the Slide Lite. Its maker touts the band as the “most versatile pro camera strap in the world.” Part of that is that you can use it as a sling, neck, or shoulder strap. It’s also easy to adjust.
Software for Sharper Shots
When you process a raw camera file (which is the best way to get the most from your photos in post) with PureRAW, it’s corrected for lens optic distortion and sensor noise. In fact, PureRAW’s DeepPrime XD noise reduction is unmatched, making some heretofore unusable photos, well, usable. This software works either as a standalone app or as a plug-in for Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, or other photo editing programs that accept plug-ins. There’s also a File Explorer/Finder extension that lets you work with photos directly in your operating system.
An Online Photography Course
Photography is both a science and an art, and you can give the gift of the necessary wisdom by paying for an online course. Hundreds of photography courses are on Udemy, usually in the $15 to $20 price range, and they’re sortable by user rating so you can choose the best ones. On each course’s description page, there’s a Gift this Course option under the Buy button. The most popular course in the category is Photography Masterclass: A Complete Guide to Photography(Opens in a new window), which is likely to hit the sweet spot for the photography buff in your life. Udemy is just one of the best-known online learning platforms, but you can find similar offerings on LinkedIn Learning, SkillShare, and others. For our top picks in the space, see The Best Online Learning Platforms for 2022. Also think about gifting an online Photoshop course.
Powerful Software for Organizing, Correcting, and Creating Delightful Images
Our top picks for professional photography software, Adobe Lightroom Classic and Photoshop, are sadly not good candidates for gift giving, since they’re subscription-only and stop working when you stop paying. That’s happily not the case for the more enthusiast-consumer-level Photoshop Elements, which offers a ton of features for organizing, fixing, and embellishing photos. In fact, most things that Photoshop does, Photoshop Elements does, but without the complexity. It also comes with an impressive Organizer utility for keeping photo collections orderly.
Photo Prints From a Quality Printing Service
If your photographer friend or relative is truly proud of their work, what better gift to give them than a permanent keepsake in the form of a professionally printed photo? Nations Photo Lab is our favorite service for high-quality prints, and the company offers a smorgasbord of different output types, including standard glossy or matte photo paper, canvas and metal prints suitable for hanging on the wall, photo books, calendars, holiday cards, and even blankets and pillows. You can buy gift cards on the Nations site in increments of $10 so that they can choose which shots to print.
For more gifting ideas in any price range, check out our full holiday gift guide.
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PC hardware is nice, but it’s not much use without innovative software. I’ve been reviewing software for PCMag since 2008, and I still get a kick out of seeing what’s new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine, the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft win and misstep up to the latest Windows 11.
Prior to my current role, I covered software and apps for ExtremeTech, and before that I headed up PCMag’s enterprise software team, but I’m happy to be back in the more accessible realm of consumer software. I’ve attended trade shows of Microsoft, Google, and Apple and written about all of them and their products.
I’m an avid bird photographer and traveler—I’ve been to 40 countries, many with great birds! Because I’m also a classical fan and former performer, I’ve reviewed streaming services that emphasize classical music.
Read Michael’s full bio
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