10 Stocking Fillers for Budding Photographers

It’s the time of year again and Christmas is fast approaching and all the decorations are being put up! One of the growing hobbies of a lot of people today is photography and many people will be lucky enough to receive photography related gifts and if you have a friend or a relative who’s into taking snapshots or is a budding photographer, buying them gifts that are connected to photography will surely put a smile on their faces.

A lot of you may be discouraged by this idea because lenses and camera accessories may cost an arm and a leg and getting the right fittings for the person’s camera can also be tricky. Photography accessories need not always have to be expensive and for just a few pounds, you’ll be able to buy a handful of gifts that can fill the stocking of your avid photographer friend.

Travel Mug

First up is this novelty travel mug. You might be thinking “What, a mug? What’s that got to do with photography?!” Well this one is special because this travel mug has a lens design for its body!

Pretty funky if you ask me, and if your friend or relative also has a love for coffee and/or carrying his or her own drinks around, this will definitely be a useful gift. The cool design is so detailed that non-photography enthusiasts might actually mistake it for an actual lens when it is closed.

Some mugs even have thermal interiors which is great for keeping drinks cold or hot on the go.

Flexible Tripod

A traditional tripod is a great stocking filler too, but if you want to give your friend a bit more versatility, a flexible tripod may be just the thing he or she needs. This is a particularly great choice if your friend has a smaller camera, maybe a compact system camera or a lomography camera.

A flexible tripod usually supports smaller camera bodies like those of point and shoot cameras. But if you are careful and use it carefully, they may also even work for DSLRs. Enough for a long exposure landscape shot maybe.

These tripods have legs that can be wrapped around objects and bent into shapes to provide a sturdy base. They are also very handy for supporting flash guns if you wanted to do some off camera flash work.

Waterproof Camera Pouch

If your photographer friend loves to go out on trips for photo walks or enjoys shooting in the outdoors, a waterproof camera bag will definitely be appreciated. There are waterproof camera bags designed for many different camera models and can accommodate one or two lenses as well.

A waterproof camera bag is great for winter or rainy seasons and can give the camera the protection it needs on the go. Your friend will thank you for taking the time to look for a protective gift that will keep his or her gear in great condition.

Camera Strap

This is another travel essential. If your friend loves walking around and going places, especially photo walks, giving him or her a comfortable strap to support the weight of the camera can make the travel more enjoyable. This is a great stocking filler idea because you can actually find many different camera straps from camera accessory stores and they are pretty affordable, too.

There are a lot of designs that can provide more support for the camera body while you are on the go. Choose straps that have adjustable lengths or padded shoulder straps so that the weight of the camera won’t be uncomfortable for your friend even after slinging it over his or her shoulder for a long time.

External Hard Drive

An external hard drive can be a great gift for someone who loves photography because this allows them to store more photos without using up the memory card on their camera itself. If you know that your friend or relative really is shutter happy or takes pictures of everything, this 1TB external hard drive is a great idea. Apart from storing stills, it can help your friend store videos and bigger resolution photos with ease. Extra storage never hurts anybody.

In fact, if you think about the usefulness of camera gear, this is one of those on top of the list. If this idea is a bit too expensive for you, you can actually consider asking for the kind of memory card your photographer friend uses and get him or her a spare one instead.

Photography Books

If your friend loves reading, searching the shelves of your local bookstore, or web site for a photography book is a brilliant idea. Photography books can give them inspiration on what to take pictures of and how to best take the photos.

There are a lot of books to choose from, some are specifically for wildlife photography, portrait photography, or sports photography. And if you know your friend’s particular interest, that’s a bonus! There are also books that offer general photography tips and one could be beneficial for beginners. You can find the right books in the art section of the bookstore.

You can find them online as well and maybe even get them delivered straight to your friend’s doorstep, already wrapped for a pleasant surprise!

Lens Pen

Now, this one is a very handy accessory in my opinion. I love this because it can help photographers clean their lenses without taking a lot of time. It is specifically made to be able to clean the lens even while it’s mounted on the camera body. It has a circular tip that can wipe off finger prints and other streaks on your lens. On the other end is a brush tip so you can remove debris and other stray particles.

This is a handy tool for any photographer and since it’s compact, it can easily be placed in the camera bag pocket. Isn’t it great to have a cleaning tool on the go? Another thing I like about this product is it’s a very affordable gift!

Domke Protective Wrap

Domke Protective Wraps are double purpose wraps for photographers who travel a lot. If your friend has a number of photography accessories that are always brought around for travels, these colourful wraps are great additional items to his or her collection. They are reasonably priced so you don’t have to worry about spending a fortune on these. They can be used to provide extra cushioning for the sensitive lenses and other camera parts.

These soft wraps can also be used for some mild cleaning. What makes these wraps great for wrapping purposes is that they have Velcro tabs on all the four corners which are used to “seal” the wrap onto the Velcro compatible surface. Your friend can wrap his accessories in a number of ways with these square Domke Wraps!

White Balance Filter

This mirror like accessory is handy for both outdoor and studio photography. That’s not even the best part. Some of these filters only cost a few pounds and since it is a handy item, it can literally fit into a Christmas stocking! The one I found is a bit more expensive because it has a nice strap that comes along with it. You can help your friend have a better eye for white balance when you offer this helpful accessory.

This can be bought online and most camera accessory stores. This is an ideal gift for someone who has been doing photography for a little while and has gone beyond the basics as they will be using white balance settings more frequently than a beginner would be.

Reflectors

This is quite a large gift to buy and wrap and it’s pretty much a giveaway because of its shape. But if your friend likes working on indoor photography, reflectors are great gift ideas. These are perfect for portraits shot in studio setups and can be appreciated most by those who you know already have their own little setups at home. This set I found is a 5 in 1 collapsible set, so your friend can get more variation from it. You can choose those that have white, black, silver, or gold surfaces.

Take a look at the ones your friend already has and try to get the kind that he or she doesn’t have yet. Be creative with the packaging of these items and you might even get away with making them think it’s something else! These are available in camera supply stores and aren’t too expensive. They are perfect for gifting and surprises.

You still have a couple of weeks to find, wrap, and deliver some of these neat gift ideas and you’ll definitely be able to make your friend smile and appreciate photography even more. These gift ideas are not just thoughtful but are also useful and perfect to complement your friend’s existing accessory collection.