So many people ask for camera’s for christmas. Its that time of year that you might be getting a lovely big present and also that time of year where you start to think about capturing memories. You might be seeing family or having a big party and they want to capture a few moments.

Ive put together a few ideas for some fabulous camera accessories that will make great presents for the budding photographer and also looks pretty good under the tree on christmas morning. If you click on the images they will take you to the website where they are listed. You can probably buy cheaper options of them if you shop around. The large montage of the fun camera-geek gifts at the bottom is all at Clickinmoms, which is an american website but the stuff can either be sourced here in the UK (etsy is a good bet) or you can order from them and the postage actually isnt too bad! Have a shop around!

1. Camera bags!

There is a HUGE range of camera bags out there, you might want to get a super slim, fit only the camera in, type bag. These are really useful for small, point and shoot cameras, that although pretty robust really benefit from having a bit of protection as they bump around in your bag.

My personal favourite is a bag made by an american photographer who bucks the trend of the boring, beefy camera bag and has produced a line of beautiful, stylish handbag style bags.

2. Tripod

Tripods are not just for the professional photographer. Once you get the hang of a tripod and the benefits it can be to you it will become and essential bit of kit for you. Tripods help to minimise the amount of movement (camera shake). This happens regardless of how stable you think you are when you are holding the camera. You have to breathe in and out right?…thats movement..and if you have your shutter slow then that movement will effect your camera. You dont need to spend a lot of money and you dont need to have an enormous tripod. There are little mini-tripods that are good value for money.

3. Lenses

Whoop whoop! My favourite! These can totally change the images you are taking, its a subject that i go could on and on and on about and i have written a post about lenses that if you want to know more do check it out. These don’t need to be for a dslr at all. You can get some cute little lenses for smartphones  now that are fun and worth checking out if you want to play!

4. Memory Cards

Not the most exciting of presents but to a photographer a large storage capacity is massively important and also the speed which you camera can write to your card once you have snapped the shutter. If you are planning to do a lot of post processing on your image you might want to shoot in RAW and this will effect how many images you can store on your card. Look for over 4GB for good performance. I have a 16GB card which takes nearly 500 RAW files. Thats a lot of images but it means that im rarely in the situation that i will need to change my card mid shoot

5 Camera Straps.

No you dont have to stick with the boring, manufacturer supplied camera strap. There are  many options for different ones. Pretty girl, decorative ones. Often available on Etsy. Or you can go more ergonomic and think about your back especially if you are toting a large camera around for long periods of time. I use a fabulous camera sling made by Blackrapid and it is by far one of the best investments i have made. It would be tough for me to go back to having a strap around my neck now as this strap goes across you like a satchel strap. It also screws into the tripod stand bit at the bottom of your camera so you it is perfectly positioned to go when you need it!

6. Flashes.

Until you get to the higher end of DSLR, most cameras will have a flash built in. There are many options for boosting your light if you are taking portraits or inside a lot. Having a flash that you can point in a different direction or have a diffuser attached to it will make your flash photography much less harsh.

Shopping for camera accessories is a LOT of fun!

Here are a few more fun ones to have a little look at!!

There is a great giveaway this week that myself and pinkoddy are running together! Would make a fabulous christmas pressie for those early planners! Just follow the rafflecopter. Winners for previous competitions will be announced on my facebook page. Be sure to follow!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway