The holiday season will be soon upon us all and the thought of buying gifts for friends can be a hard task to tackle, especially if a friend lean towards photography. So what does one buy for a photographer friend?

Photography for the average person may be a scary prospect. Ideas of camera bodies that can cost upwards of hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, and the accessories can cost a pretty penny or two (read: dollars). You don't have to shell out much of your hard earned cash to give a gift worthy for a photographer friend. Surprisingly enough, there are a lot of affordable options out there that will impress said shutterbug friend, and I have provided a list of some pretty snazzy products sure to surprise and impress your camera happy friend.

For the film photographer

A camera

Canon AE-1 Program Photo by: Calvin Alagot

Photographers are camera nerds. Every time we go out to shoot, whether it be street photography or a studio gig, we take notice when we see someone with a camera around their neck. Film cameras are relatively cheap since not many are shooting film these days. You can find some fully functional, sturdy and reliable film cameras on eBay, flea markets or camera fairs. Prices can vary from $35 - $1700 but for the sake of this post, I'll list some of the more budget conscious gift givers out there.

There are other cameras out there that are affordable like the toy cameras by Holga and the Diana F by Lomography (who offer other forms of toy cameras). What makes toy cameras unique compared to their more professional camera counterparts are that they're super easy to use and the plastic lenses utilized on toy cameras allow for very interesting results. Photos tend to be more softer and some even have vignetting, creating "lo-fi" analog photos.

Film

This is a pretty obvious option for that film photographer friend of yours. Contrary to popular belief, film is not dead and some companies still manufacture film stock like Kodak, Fuji, Ilford, Kentmere, Adox and Lomography. Prices vary from $3 per roll to $12 per roll. You can buy your friend a brick (10 rolls) of film for as low as $35. Although there are manufacturers out there still producing film, physically going into a store to purchase film is problematic. If you're in the Los Angeles area, you can go to Freestyle Photographic Supplies in Hollywood and you can readily buy film since they specialize in film photography. If you don't live in Los Angeles, you can purchase film from Freestyle by visiting their website. Another website that I'm fond of purchasing film from is B&H Photo/Video. They have an amazing selection of photo/video products and they don't charge sales tax which saves costs. If you order more than $50, shipping is free. Want to really impress them? Find out what their favorite film stock is and get them that.

Misc.

Think First patch by Asilda Store. Photo courtesy of Asilda Store

The woven patch is becoming a big trend amongst film photographers and there are a couple of companies out there that provide nifty patches that allow film photographers to display their love and affinity for the analog medium.

One of the companies providing patches and other flair is Asilda Store. Los Angeles based Anastasia Petukhova started her career as a photographer and recently created Asilda Store as a way of sharing physical messages with the world, creating products that are timeless, well thought out and designed. Asilda's products range from patches and stickers to lapel pins. Although many of her products cater to the photographer, her eclectic line also offers patches and stickers for the avid traveller.

Class of 1977 Polaroid patch from ShootFilmCo. Photo courtesy of ShootFilmCo.

Another noteworthy company that provides some great patches and stickers for the lovers of analog film is ShootFilmCo. Owned and operated by Mike Padua, ShootFilmCo is another recent upstart in the analog film patch game. Opened in 2015, Padua created the site "because I wanted to create patches, stickers, and other accessories for film photographers that combine my love for graphic design and film photography." Some of ShootFilmCo's design harken back to the days of being in the boy or girl scouts (assuming you were one in your younger years), so there's an element of nostalgia in their designs.

For any photographer

A film camera

If your friend is mainly a digital photographer and has never shot a roll of film, get them started! There's a magic about shooting film that I think everyone needs to experience. Buying a film camera for the digital photographer allows them to switch up their way of photography, adding a new experience and creative outlet for them.

Camera straps

Porter Legacy leather camera strap by Tap & Dye. Photo courtesy of Tap & Dye

Based in New York, Tap & Dye has become one of purveyors of custom made leather camera straps. Proudly made in the USA, each strap is hand made and crafted in small batches to uphold the highest quality standards. Minimal and beautifully designed, Tap & Dye's camera straps would look great on any camera, from your analog Leica M7 to your digital Sony A7S II and everything in between. Tap & Dye also sell their popular Legacy Shooters Patch, which have sold out, but a new series of patches are in the works from what I've heard.

A light meter

Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) and most film cameras have a built in light meter so why would any photographer need a handheld light meter? Well, if you're a film shooter and own a vintage model camera, there's a good chance the meter doesn't work and you've been using the sunny 16 rule, but if you want exact readings, you'll either have to fix that built in light meter or you can purchase a hand held, dedicated light meter. If you're a digital photographer, there are advantages to owning a hand held light meter. For one, the light meter built in to your digital camera meters for reflected light, meaning it reads the light reflected off your subject, and given the random quality of light on a given scene, a reflected meter can cause blown out highlights or under exposed shadows. Your camera will do its best to average it out but some compensation will need to be made either in camera or in post.

A hand held light meter's advantage is that it has different forms for metering light such as reflected metering (much like built in meters in your camera), spot metering and incident metering and incident metering is what's really important in owning a hand held meter. Incident meters the light falling on your subject. Incident meters are exact and allow the photographer to meter exactly what he/she wants to whether it be the shadows or the highlights.

For film photographers, hand held meters are a necessity because having the ability to read the incident light falling on your subject allows you to efficiently work with the film you have loaded. If you're shooting slide film, you're going to meter for the highlights as to not blow them out and if you're shooting black & white film or color negative, you're going to meter for the shadows so you can get enough shadow detail in your photo without blowing out the highlights.

Hand held meters also allow the photographer, film or digital, to work with multiple flashes or light sources in a studio setting more efficiently.

A number of companies make dedicated light meters like Sekonic and prices can range from $175 to $600. What's also great about owning a dedicated light meter is that you only have to buy one without any need or worry to upgrade to the latest model every year. All dedicated light meters are made equal, generally. Going into exacts is a whole other topic of discussion, possibly in a later post. The Sekonic L-308DC as the one pictured above, can be had for about $240 at B&H which isn't cheap but you have to remember, once you buy one, you don't need to upgrade for a long, long time. You can search eBay for used light meters at a cheaper rate, of course, and with many photographers having already made the switch to digital, many of them have decided to sell their light meters on the cheap! (I don't know why they would but that's my opinion)

Note books

The trusty notebook. I think every photographer needs to have one on themselves at all times. Film photographers can write down the camera settings of each frame they take and the type of film they used to understand what mistakes they made on any given frame and adjust accordingly for future photography outings. Digital photographers can jot down quick thoughts of inspirations or notes on the photos they just shot which allows them to become better connected with their photographs. Plus, why not?

My favorite brand is from Field Notes. Their notebooks are ultra small and portable which can fit in the front compartment of your camera bag or inside your back pocket pants (or jacket if you'd like). Field Notes make various series and collections of themed notebooks but their Expedition edition is probably the best for a photographer. The book is printed using Yupo synthetic paper which makes it water and tear proof. Ultra versatile, you can take this particular notebook out in pouring rain and confidently write your notes down. Just remember to use a pen that uses water proof ink. Thankfully, Field Notes also sells a water proof pen. I have an Expedition notebook that looks like it went through a war zone but other than the front being all worn out, the notebook is pretty much intact and its pages are rip free.

I hope this list gives you many more gift options to buy for your photographer friend during this coming holiday season. Regardless of what you get for your friend, it's always the thought that counts and I'm sure your photographer friend will greatly appreciate your gift.

Gifts For Your Photographer Friends