Updated for 2021!
Let me guess, someone you love is a photographer.
...Or perhaps you are!
Maybe they're just getting started, or have more time in their lives to take up an artistic hobby.
What can you get them?
What presents will help them that they don't already have? How can you support them and show them you love them without tipping them off? You want to make sure your gift is not only appreciated but needed, but unless you're a photographer too, it's hard to know what to get.
I can help you with that: go digital!
Here are my top ideas for digital gifts that you may not have considered.
Note that these are all products I use and swear by. Sometimes they come bundled with bonuses when you use my affiliate link, and it costs you nothing extra. You are more than welcome to search for them yourself - you'll lose those bonuses, however.
Online gallery/sharing - Pixieset
Pixieset is an online image gallery that can not only display your pictures but allow others to make favourite lists and order prints. It's free to sign up for, and comes with a free website, too. In fact, THIS website you're on now is one of theirs! It's gorgeous and easy to set up.
Oh, and when you use my link, you get additional storage space! Just enter their email address and they'll get a link with an extra bump of storage space already included.
AI-enhanced Digital Image Editor - Skylum's Luminar Neo
Luminar Neo is a powerful, AI-enhanced photo editor. It has many features that more famous editors have, yet at a fraction of the cost. (Note that I said "famous," not better - the image editors you're familiar with merely have more marketing dollars to get their products in front of you. That doesn't make them the best available by any means!)
Sky replacement, easy removal of distracting elements like powerlines, as well as masking and layers make this a great tool for your loved one's creative endevours.
Click throught to see Luminar Neo in action!
An Essential Backup Service - Backblaze
Backblaze is a set-and-forget cloud-based computing service that automatically backs up your computer (and any hard drives you plug into it) to a trustworthy cloud-based service. This means you are highly unlikely to lose images or files permanently.
If you have important data you must not lose, this is the service to get. Did I mention that it is unlimited? Mindblowing that they can offer such a terrific service at such a reasonable price. The number of mishaps and problems I've seen solved in the photography community just by having Backblaze would be an entire blog post in itself. This one is a no-brainer.
BONUS RECOMMENDATION
“Dropbox makes it super easy to share [files] with others, whether you're a student or professional, parent or grandparent. Even if you accidentally spill a latte on your laptop, have no fear! Relax knowing that your stuff is safe in Dropbox and will never be lost.”
Jpeg Shrinker - JPEGmini
Jpegs are smaller than raw image files, but they can still take up a lot of space on computers. Even though storage space is relatively inexpensive these days, it always pays to shrink the file sizes even more, especially if you post them online. Smaller file sizes lead to faster load times!
The best shrinking service I've used is JPEGmini. They use lossless compression - meaning the image quality is not compromised, so the photos still look exactly the same.
Get paid for your images! Shutterstock
I won't pretend that having your images on Shutterstock will make you a millionaire. Still, it is gratifying to see that people are willing to pay to use your photos! Yes if you join a stock image service, you can get your photos out in front of more people, and they might even come back to buy them. Sometimes it's the strangest thing that gets popular. The most popular image I've ever put on Shutterstock is a high-res image of an old brick wall!
So have a try, it can't hurt =D
One last gift
Get them a portrait session!Strange as it may sound, photographers often don't have many photos of themselves. This can actually be quite a sad thing for us, that in spite of us wanting to capture the images of others and preserve their likeness for all time, it's rare that someone does the same for us.
Give your loved one the gift of a photography session. I'm sure they will appreciate it so much when you explain that you want to have a special photo of them.
Contact me today and mention this article.
What gifts are you giving this season? Tell me on Instagram!
@wmlamontIf you found this useful or have something to add, please tell me in the comments below!
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