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Great Ideas for Photography Gifts

By Meghan White

Photography is a fun and creative medium for creating unique, handmade gifts that capture beloved moments, memories, and more. These books offer hundreds of ideas for photography gifts and projects that you can share with your loved ones, as well as tips, tricks, and terms of digital photography that'll help you make great photos.

  • Handmade Personalized Photo Gifts

    2014 by Visser, Carla

    With dozens of creative ideas for turning photos into gifts, this book is a great resource for crafters and photographers alike, whether starting with troves of snapshots, old family photos, or new pictures taken just for these projects. Each gift idea comes with a photograph of the final project, simple instructions, and a list of materials you'll need. Some of my favorite gifts include tree branch frames, olive oil photo bottles, a memory blanket, and a photo lampshade.

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  • Creative Photography Lab

    2013 by Sonheim, Steve

    Every time I come across a new book of photography exercises, I'm ready to grab my camera and give it a go! Steve Sonheim's collection of prompts are a great place to start if you're looking to give some thoughtful, original, and fun photographs as gifts. Plus, Carla Sonheim offers a mixed-media photo project at the end of each chapter, adding even more possibilities to what you can create. Textured photo flags, anyone?

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  • A Beautiful Mess: Photo Idea Book

    2013 by Larson, Elsie

    While all of the books in this list are approachable for any level of photographer, A Beautiful Mess is particularly well-suited to those who want to try their hands at photo gifts because the authors aren't even professional photographers! This makes everything they suggest feel attainable and fun. From making homemade filters to adding hand coloring to recreating an old photo, there are tons of whimsical and very doable activities in this book.

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  • Serial Photography: Using Themed Images to Improve Your Photographic Skills

    2011 by Mante, Harald

    WhileSerial Photography isn't a gift-making book, it does have lots of projects that all have great potential as photo gifts. By making series of photographs, from balloons to boats to the color blue, you can create a cohesive, refined project that needs little more than a frame (or frames) to stand out as a great gift.

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  • Expressive Photography: The Shutter Sisters' Guide to Shooting from the Heart

    2010

    What's great about this book is that it gives far-reaching, thoughtful consideration of how to make impactful pictures rather than all the technical gibberish that may not matter as much to those of us using point-and-shoot or cell-phone cameras. Each chapter focuses on a different style or subject and discusses approach, perspective, composition, lighting, details, and processing. You'll be capturing special moments in no time, and those pictures always make some of the bests gifts.

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  • Beautiful Beasties: A Creative Guide to Modern Pet Photography

    2012 by Pflughoeft, Jamie

    Who doesn't love having great pictures of their pets? This comprehensive guide to photographing your furry friends will give you the tools to making some of the most cherished gifts you can give.

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  • The Enthusiast's Guide to iPhone Photography

    2018 by Duggan, Seán

    Though packed with a little more detail than the casual photographer might want, this guide to iPhone photography is an excellent tool for elevating the quality of your cell-phone photos. For most of us, our camera phone is the only camera we have, so learning how to use it to its fullest extent is extremely valuable to anyone wanting to become a better photographer.

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  • Digital Photography FAQs

    2012 by Wignall, Jeff C.

    Throughout your journey with photography, you're bound to have questions. Digital Photography FAQs answers hundreds of questions about terminology, gear, basic techniques, and even creative techniques. A great resource to have in your back pocket while exploring the world of photography.

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  • Illustrated Dictionary of Photography

    2008 by Lynch-Johnt, Barbara A.

    A great companion to Digital Photography FAQs, the Illustrated Dictionary of Photography is another secondary resource that can prove invaluable to budding photographers working through the techniques and approaches in the books on this list. While most of the books here do offer some introductory technical information, or definitions, this compendium will define just about any term you're looking to understand.

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