In this post I’m going to give you five tips on how you can give someone the gift of an image this Christmas.
Did you miss the first posts of Blogmas? Here’s where to start!
The gift of an image – meaningful and special
Most photographers will think about the perfect ways to gift an image at some point or another. When spending time or energy on creating something special you’d like to share it with those who matter, right? I think that’s why giving the gift of an image is such a meaningful and special gift.
However as you’ll see in this post giving the gift of an image is not just for photographers. It’s something we can all do in one way or another. So I encourage you to try it out and give someone a special moment captured this Christmas.
Capture new moments – give a photography session
There’s several ways to gift someone a photography session. If you’re a photographer yourself you could make a voucher for a portrait session for instance. Give it to the couple that have just gotten engaged, or just had their first child. I’m also sure that your best friend would be happy with new portrait images of themself.
One of the best things about giving away a photography session is that the images you come up with together can be given from the recipient of your gift to the people that matter to them in form of prints later on. A gift that keeps on giving, who doesn’t like that?
If you’re not a photographer yourself, fear not. There’s plenty of photographers out there that offer gift cards. That way everyone is able to give the gift of a photography session, and it’s a neat way of supporting a creator.
Hang favorite moments on display – make a print
Have you captured an image that you love and think someone else will appreciate to own? It doesn’t matter if it’s an image from a special moment you shared over the last year, a landscape image from a hike you did all by yourself or a portrait. Receiving a print of an image is always a meaningful gift.
There are so many options in printing these days, so think about how you can make a print that suits both your image and the recipient best. You can print and frame in the most traditional sense, or you can change it up by printing on canvas, aluminum plates or even wooden plates. Even if you choose the traditional photo paper you can frame the print in different ways to make the gift even more special.
12 images to enjoy the year around – make a calendar
For years families have made calendars with images of their children. It’s kind of taking the bragging of a Christmas card one step further. And I love it. No need for excuses, everyone should share how proud one is of ones children, dogs or significant other. Making a calendar packed with moments from the year that has passed will not go out of style anytime soon if you ask me.
However it’s totally possible to up your game with the photo calendar. I’ve seen a lot of hobbyists make beautiful calendars as a way of showcasing their 12 best images from the year passed. You don’t even have to think about the relation between the recipients and the subjects of the image. I think this is a perfect way to gift images to people who already have everything they need and thus limited wall space.
Think about clean design and letting each image speak for themselves, and you’ll make an amazing gift I’m sure anyone would be happy with.
Support your favorite photographer – order a print
If you don’t think you have any images worth gifting yourself, but still want to give the gift of an image, there are loads of photographers out there happy to sell you prints. I think giving a print from your favorite photographer (or the recipients favorite photographer) is a great way to support photographers.
Making a living as a photographer can be hard. And this year more so than maybe ever before selling prints is an important source of income. Due to COVID-19 photography sessions were cancelled. Some photographers got all their appointments for a whole year cancelled in March. So this is the year to show creators all over the world that we appreciate their work, and a great way to do so is gifting someone a print.
Tactile is always better – make an album or photobook
We live in an age when everything we do together is well documented. More so than it used to be. Still it seems like we don’t remember the experiences any better than people did before digital cameras and smartphones. We document stuff, post it in social media and forget about it.
If you want to give a meaningful gift, an album or a photo book is the best way to go. It’s tactile and in my opinion tactile is always better whenever you want to reminisce.
Gather images of your experiences together. Make an album from that time you went to Paris together as teenagers. Or how about making a photobook where you show all the moments you wish you had shared with your best friend who wasn’t able to join you? There’s many ways to curate an album or a photobook, just use your imagination.
I hope you like my ideas of how you can give the gift of an image this year. And I hope you’ll stick around for the rest of Blogmas. Make sure to subscribe to get notified, and I’d be very happy if you’d check out my Instagram. See you tomorrow!
