Best Gift Ideas For Photography Enthusiasts

Photography is a hobby that has grown and grown - from awkward giant cameras to film point-and-shoots to DSLRs - and with technology advancing as it is I'm sure it's something more and more people will get interested in. So I've put together this page to help you choose fun and practical gadgets to treat yourself, or to help you think of cool present ideas for photography lovers.

Amateur photographers will probably have a main camera, a few accessories and probably a tripod, so I've tried to list products that can be additional to what people would already own. Most are very affordable and made for encouraging photographic creativity, and I'm sure you'll find the perfect choice here whether the recipients are men, women or teens.

I hope you find what you're looking for :)

Image Credit: Amazon (see below for details about this Holga camera)

This is an excellent gift for people who like to take lots of photographs because, normally, the photographer can't be in the photo themselves (unless they ask a stranger to take the photo for them) but this handy extender rod would let them appear in the photos too - clever!

Not a long-lasting gift particularly but it's inexpensive and would really be lots of fun for someone who likes water sports or who is going on a holiday in the sun soon.

This small gadget is a much more portable alternative to a tripod - in fact it even fits in your pocket - and its purpose is to reduce camera shake and therefore the occurrence of blurry photos.

This is extremely similar to the strap I use with my bridge camera, and I love the funky patterning on it - you're bound to get compliments with this style!

You grip the top of the frame and position the camera or video camera on the bottom platform, so that you can hold the camera and move it around much easier with one hand when either in action yourself, or when filming action scenes.

I have seen these used by BMX bike riders and skateboarders to video 'on the move', so if you know someone who is into sports or perhaps adventurous hobbies then this would be a great gift for them to capture their exploits!

Color filters are a way of manipulating the overall color of a photograph without changing settings or using Photoshop in post-processing. You can use them for creative as well as practical uses and the filters can be used with any camera including mobile phone cameras and underwater cameras. Simply hold the filter in front of the lens or flash and take the photo!

Simply find a bag that this insert can fit into - whether it's a messenger bag or rucksack - and you can instantly transform it into a protective camera bag with padded sides and many useful compartments.

Lomography is a move back to using 'old-fashioned' film cameras with plastic housing and lenses, like this Holga example shown below. These cameras can be used to create interesting photography effects for more artistic and creative photos; my favorite technique is double exposure where you basically take one photo on top of the other (on the same bit of film) to make a cool effect.

Lomography photographs have a dreamy romantic effect in comparison to today's modern digital camera photos which are crisp and sharp, where the aim is usually to recreate the scene as identical to reality as possible.

I wish I'd known about the existence of these before going to a music concert earlier this year, where I stood on tiptoes awkwardly holding my camera with 2 hands and wobbling all over the place! This pistol grip handle would have made it so much easier to hold the camera higher and more steady with only one hand.

GorillaPods came on the scene a few years ago and stood out straight away as being very unique compared to other tripods on the market due to their striking looks and their flexible legs.

A whole series of GorillaPods have since become available; including ones for large DSLRs, ones with magnetic feet, and tiny ones which would be great for travel.