10 Cool Gift Ideas For the Photographer in your Life !

Christmas is coming... and you if you have a Photographer in your life, you probably know that most of their wish list would cost serious coin! Well, there are a few cool gift ideas, that may not break the bank. (Ideas courtesy of the Photojojo online store)

Detachable iPhone Lenses
There are SO many gadgets now for the serious iPhone-ographer... but probably the best are the wee lenses you can now add!

You can get a Fisheye, Telephoto, Wide Angle and Macro Lenses- each set comes with adhesive removable metal rings. The ring sticks to the back of your phone, and the Photojojo Lens attaches magnetically. Snap it on and off in an instant!

Camera Lens Mugs
These mugs are ridiculously life-like! They are full-size models and available in Nikon or Canon versions.

iPhone Wrist Strap
Ok... now this is one I should have had a couple of months ago, when a bunch of kids flew past me while on my daily school pick-up, knocking my now-ex iPhone out of my hands. If I had had one of these, I could have said nur-nur-de-nur-nur to gravity and it's evil buddy, concrete!

Camera Cookie Cutter Set

Love cookies AND cameras? Why not combine the 2 with camera cookie cutters?!

You get 3 different designs: an SLR, a classic rangefinder, and an old-school twin reflex camera.

They also come with a dough stamp AND recipe.

Camera Tree Ornaments
Totally useless but oh so pretty! These cute wee tree baubles are glass, hand painted & perfect for stocking stuffers!

A Bokeh Kit!

For the "experimental" Photographer, how about this kit to create cool effects out of these luscious out-of-focus light? (Particularly cool to use in conjunction with festive fairy lights!) The kit comes with 21 shapes plus 8 blanks to make your own.

A Lens Cap Strap Holder

Aaahh... those pesky lens caps...vital to protect your lens in the bag, of course, but so stinkin easy to lose on a shoot... no matter how much you are convinced you put it in a safe place!! Oh yes, you could use one of those cap gadgets that keep them attached to the lens by elastic... but they are even more annoying as they swing about widely (and repeatedly in the way) when your creative juices are in full flow. Here is the solution! No more swearing when you are halfway down a mountain in Manning Park when you realize you haven't seen that cap since the summit! (Yes, this was me, last summer!) 

The DSLR Piggy Bank!

Photography is an expensive hobby... and one where you are ALWAYS wanting more "stuff"! So, why not save up for your "stuff" with a camera piggy bank?! (Seems pretty logical to me!)

The Camera USB Drive

Cute AND handy... with 4GB of storage to boot. Nuff said, really!

Photo-opoly!

Here's one for the game-loving photographer - a rather fabulous version of the old-classic Monopoly! You even get to add some of your own photos to the board...

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A FEW BONUS IDEAS...

Yes, I know I said 10... but photographers can never have enough "stuff", so here are a few more bonus ideas for the shutterbug in your life!

Op/tech Rainsleeve - a simple plastic sleeve that keeps your camera dry on a rainy day! If I remember right, mine were a pack of 2 from Lens & Shutter, for just $7.99

Memory Cards - a good photographer can never have enough memory cards! You may want to check first, though, which sort their camera takes.

Props! - If the photographer in your life does portraits, they will probably want props. Just check out their pics & style to see what they might like. (Thrift stores or antique shops are your best bets for this one!)

There... that should get you started! Photographer-buddies, please feel free to not-so-subtly share this post with your gift-buying loved ones, and also feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments below! The loved-one of a photographer somewhere will thank you for easing their purchasing burden!!

New Toy!

I have a confession...I love snow globes. I probably have ever since I was a fresh-faced young student and saw Bill Pullman  give that oh-so-sentimental-and-romantic gift to Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping. (Permission to roll your eyes just a little bit!)

Well, I follow several Photographers who develop and sell editing actions, (they come in handy occasionally, when having a "creative block" or speed things up when I'm running on a tight deadline!) and a few of them have made snow globe templates, this year. It's an old concept, but seems to be enjoying a sudden revival, thanks to these Photographers.

This was one kind of template I just couldn't resist... and I've spent the last 24 hours happily playing! (These particular templates are courtesy of Stacie Jensen of Rock My Edits) Ahhh, if only I'd have had them a month ago to make our Christmas cards. Oh well, next year maybe...

A few more family memories... | Chilliwack Family Photographer

Wow... it really is Family Photo Season, as the requests are still coming in!

I had the great pleasure to shoot another lovely family, last week... and their girls were absolutely adorable! The youngest has had quite a rough spell recently, with an extended hospital stay, so Mom decided they should celebrate her recovery with some family pics - good call, Mom! Of course, Big Sis was a total superstar too, doing absolutely everything I asked straight away and with a smile at all times - a future model maybe?

A few for the family.. | Chilliwack Family Photographer

With Christmas fast approaching, Photographers everywhere are finding themselves firmly in the midst of "Family Portrait Season" (kinda like Duck Season, but our shooting is a little safer for the targets!). I have had the pleasure to shoot a couple of awesome families lately, who are not only great friends, but are fantastic models at the same time!

Of course, this time of the year can present some challenges weather-wise, and these shoots were no exception... the first was pouring with rain, the second was freezing cold. But, I have to salute both families for braving the elements with no complaints and "turning it on" at the right moment!

 I'm now kinda scared to see what Mother Nature intends to throw at me for the next session!

When a Wedding becomes my Birthday...

I had the great pleasure of being invited to second-shoot a wedding with Lori, of Lori Johnson Photography, in August.... and I must say that this gig kind-of became a bit of a birthday for me. Why? Because I was given the rare chance to shoot with lenses that I usually just drool over in my catalogues.

Shooting with Lori is always a pleasure anyway, and she is fantastic about giving constructive feedback in a way that doesn't crush my soul(!)... but on this occasion, since the results needed to be as tack sharp as possible for printing purposes, she allowed me to shoot with whatever lenses she wasn't using at the time. My inner voice was singing and whooping with every single lens change! (My outer shell remained calm and professional, of course!)

The 3 new lenses I shot with were the 105mm, 24-70mm f2.8 and the much coveted 70-200mm f2.8 (all Nikkor). My favourite? Well, I loved them all, and I am now definitely saving harder for that 24-70, but the clear winner had to be the 70-200. If this glass was a dessert, it would be a triple-chocolate & fudge death-by-chocolate layer cake, drizzled with chocolate & caramel sauce made with real Belgian chocolate. Mmmmm...

Here are a few of my favourite shots from that day...