A Christmas Gift Guide for Landscape Photographers
Christmas is just around the corner and if you have a landscape photographer in your life, then this list will help you find the perfect gift. No matter what the subject, there’s no shortage of Christmas gift guides out there and although there are plenty of gift guides for photographers, I have decided to share a list that has some gifts aimed squarely at the landscape photographer. No matter what your budget, this list will you help you from inexpensive stocking fillers to something a lot more substantial. This Christmas gift guide for landscape photographers will provide you some much needed inspiration.
If you have a strict budget in mind, I’ve made it easier by separating this list into 3 price brackets, under£20, under £100 and £100+, so without further ado, lets jump into my Christmas gift guide for landscape photographers.
Stocking filler Gifts under £20 for Landscape Photographers
Easy Off Unisex Skiing and Photography Gloves
Landscape photographers are a funny bunch. We like to be out in the great outdoors when it’s cold, misty and frosty and avoid warm sunny days so what better gift for a landscape photography at Christmas than a pair of Easy Off Gloves. These gloves are a perfect, inexpensive gift for landscape photographers as the index and thumb pull back allowing them to operate the camera without needing to remove the gloves, ensuring their fingers stay nice and toasty.
Water Resistant JJC SD Card Holder
The photos we take are the single most important thing to us while on a shoot so it’s important we keep them safe so this rugged, waterproof memory card case is a perfect addition to any landscape photographer’s bag. Just check beforehand what cards the photographer you are buying for uses, just to make sure you get the right one!
Thermos Stainless King Flask, Matt Black, 470 ml
I have one of these and it comes with me for all of my woodland photography adventures. It keeps my coffee hot for hours and doesn’t leak at all. A perfect gift for any landscape photographer to keep them warm on those cold, winter mornings.
APUNOL 2Packs Head Torch, Rechargeable Waterproof Headlamp LED Headlight
Getting up for those sunrise shoots can mean some dark, treacherous walks across uneven ground to get on location so having a good head torch is a must to enable any landscape photographer to see and equally important to be seen in the dark. These head torches need not be expensive but being rechargeable, lasting many hours and having adjustable strength means this pack of two torches is a fantastic stocking filler gift for any landscape photographer.
Giottos AA1900 Rocket Air Blower
This Giottos Rocket Air Blower is a must have accessory for any landscape photographer’s bag. It’s always better to remove dust and grit from your lens with a puff of air rather than a cloth to avoid scratching the glass and the one-way filter in the Giottos AA1900 Rocket Air Blaster ensures that dust and debris isn’t blown over your gear.
Manfrotto PIXI Mini Tripod
If you check out my “Whats in my camera bag post” you will see I have one of these and carry it around in my lightweight kit. The Manfrotto PIXI is small but strong enough to support my Fujifilm XT2 and standard lens and perfect for any landscape photographer to support their camera in situations a full-size tripod can’t be used. From personal experience, I find it particularly useful in London as there are many places full size tripods cannot be used.
Premium Microfibre Cleaning Cloths
Photographers can always use more microfibre cleaning cloths to clean or dry our gear and this set is a perfect stocking filler gift for your landscape photographer friend.
Gifts under £100 for Landscape Photographers
Masters of Landscape Photography Book
If it’s inspiration you’re after then look no further as this book is crammed full of it and will make a great gift for any landscape photographer. It is a collection of the world’s best landscape photographers showcasing their work and sharing their “behind the photo” stories and technical information. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found it incredibly inspiring.
Hoya 72 mm Pro ND 1000 Filter
This was the first 10-stop neutral density filter I brought and it got me hooked on long exposure photography. If your landscape photographer friend is looking to dip their toe into the creative world of long exposure photography then this is a great option. It’s a high-quality filter without any observable colour cast and at a fraction of the cost of the professional filter kits on the market. Before you buy, check the maximum thread size needed, that way it can be used for all of the lenses with a few cheap step-up rings.
Instax Link Smartphone Printer
Ok, not strictly for landscape photographers but I just love printing on these Fujifilm Instax printers and have them on display all over the place. These fun, portable little printers allow you to print photos from your phone or tablet using their smartphone app while travelling, out in the field or even create an instant memento of you and your family or friends rather than have the photo stuck on the phone like everyone else.
SanDisk Extreme PRO 128 GB SDXC Memory Card
Although not particularly sexy, all photographers need memory cards so these make perfect gifts for landscape photographers. Just make sure you check which cards your photographer friend uses so you buy the right ones. I’ve been using SanDisk cards for as long as I can remember and they have never let me down. SanDisk are industry standard so you can’t go wrong if you buy these.
Peak Design Capture Clip v3
The Peak Design Capture Clip v3 is such a clever little device as it essentially acts as a third hand while out in the field taking photos. By allowing you to swiftly clip your camera to your bag’s strap or your belt, it frees up your hands while keeping the camera close by and ready to grab if a photo opportunity arises using the one-handed quick release. Unlike camera straps, it keeps your camera rigidly stable so it’s not flopping around. It holds over 200lbs. which means it can hold even the heaviest of camera + lens combinations, for any kind of photography.
A Photobook Gift Certificate
If you read my blog, you will know I am a massive fan of printing photos. It brings them to life from a digital image on a screen to a tangible photograph you can touch and admire so if the landscape photographer in your life has a collection of images that need to be freed from the harddrive they reside on, then why not buy them a photobook gift voucher. Photobooks are a fantastic way to print a collection of photos and when I want to print my photos in the highest possible quality, I use Whitewall. They are not the cheapest out there but I feel they provide the best bang for the buck when it comes to balancing quality with cost. I’m not affiliated with Whitewall in any way, I just love the books I have made using their service.
3 Legged Thing QR11- LG universal L bracket
The L-Bracket is such a useful gadget for us landscape photographers as it makes it easy to quickly switch between a horizontal or vertical orientation without adjusting the tripod at all. This for many is a bit of a game changer and I for one won’t go on a shoot without it. It may seem a little pricey for what is essentially an L-shaped piece of metal but think of it more in terms of how useful it is, not what it looks like. If the landscape photographer in your life doesn’t have one, this will make an excellent Christmas gift.
Joby GorillaPod 3K
Sometimes a standard tripod just won’t do. It may be too big, too heavy or just not bendy enough. The Joby GorillaPod 3K is a great tool in a landscape photographer’s arsenal as it allows the camera to be supported on uneven ground or wrap around various objects. It also comes with magnetic feet, an advanced feature which allows you to stick the tripod to metal surfaces. All of this means getting that shot from a different angle or perspective and coming away with some unique photos. The Joby GorillaPod 3K can support the heaviest of mirrorless camera and most DSLR style cameras so you can’t go wrong gifting this to you landscape photographer friend.
£100+ Gifts for Landscape Photographers
Kase Wolverine Magnetic Circular Filters
First up as we move into the £100+ price bracket is the Kase Wolverine Magnetic Circular Filters. These innovative filters are made of both toughened glass and leave no noticeable colour cast but their real party trick is that they are magnetic rather than screw-in so they can be fitted and removed in a pinch and even better, stacked on top of each other. This set of filters includes a circular polariser to cut the glare and give photos a punch of contrast and various strength neutral density filters which can be used for streaky clouds of silky-smooth water. This set may seem pricey but when it comes to filters, quality is everything. As with the 10-stop filter mentioned previously, it’s important to buy the right size so make sure you get the set that is the same or larger than the maximum lens thread size, that way it can be used for all of the lenses with a few cheap step-up rings.
SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1 TB
Upgrading from a standard hard drive to an SSD like this will supercharge any photographers portable photo editing experience. Buying this drive for the landscape photographer in your life will save them so much time as they are lightning quick and all in a package not much bigger than a credit card.
Canon PIXMA Pro 10S Printer
I mentioned before about how important I think it is for photographers to print their photos so although it’s on the more extravagant end of the budget spectrum, what better gift is there than a high quality A3 professional grade photo printer so their photos can be unleashed from that hard drive and experienced in all of their tactile glory. I have one of these Canon PIXMA Pro 10S printers and it really is an excellent printer so I can personally recommend it!
Book a Photography Workshop
OK, no link for this one and without doubt this one will take a little research but for any budding landscape photographer, gifting them a spot on a workshop lead by one of their favourite photographers really is a top gift! So, what to do? First off, you need to find out who they follow on the usual social channels like Instagram or Facebook, who they admire and who’s work they have already brought. Then once you know, why not pop by that photographer’s website and see if they offer tuition or workshop sessions. If they don’t have anything bookable on their website, don’t stop there, make contact with them and see what they offer. If you pull this off, it could be quite a special gift.
Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan
Last but not least is an Adobe Creative Cloud photography plan. If your landscape photography friend uses or wants to start using Adobe’s flagship photography editing suit, then this is the perfect gift for them. Whether they have an existing account or not, this 12 month subscription plan means a further 12-months of photo post processing joy!
I know we landscape photographers can be a difficult bunch to buy for so I do hope this Christmas Gift Guide helps inspire you to find the perfect present for the landscape photographer in your life.