Gift Ideas for Portrait Photographers | 2024

Looking for the perfect gift for a portrait photographer? While a new lens might be out of your budget, there are plenty of practical gifts under £100 that can help any photographer take their portrait work to the next level. From tools that improve lighting and capture to accessories that speed up post-processing, these ten gift ideas are both affordable and highly useful. Whether your recipient is a beginner or a seasoned pro, these thoughtful gifts will help them capture stunning portraits all year round.

Need help choosing the right gift? Contact us via phone, email, or message us on social media for personalised advice.

For more inspiration, check out our complete guides to the best cameras and lenses for portrait photography!

A tripod is a must-have for any portrait photographer, and the Vanguard VESTA TB 204AB is a perfect entry-level option. It’s lightweight and compact enough to carry on location shoots, whether you’re doing outdoor portraits at sunrise or casual family sessions in a park. Its stability ensures sharp results during longer exposures, group portraits, or creative shots with slower shutter speeds. We’ve used this tripod on hiking trips where every gram matters, and it handled uneven terrain surprisingly well for its size.

Memory cards are one of those accessories every photographer needs more of. The SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB is perfect for portrait shooters capturing RAW images or 4K video. Its fast read and write speeds mean you can shoot continuous bursts without worrying about buffer lag. For example, when shooting a family portrait session in natural light, switching between multiple cameras and formats is seamless thanks to the card’s reliability. It’s also great for travel, letting you store hundreds of high-quality images without constantly offloading to a laptop.

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 is a fun, playful addition to any portrait photographer’s kit. Instant cameras are great for capturing informal portraits or behind-the-scenes memories during photoshoots. You can hand a subject the camera and let them take candid shots, which helps break the ice and adds spontaneity to the session. We’ve used it at workshops to give participants instant mementos, which always gets a smile and makes the experience memorable. Plus, the variety of colours means you can pick one that fits your recipient’s personality.

Photographers often find themselves juggling multiple types of memory cards, and the Lexar 3-in-1 card reader is a small but mighty solution. Whether it’s SD, microSD, or CompactFlash cards, this reader lets you quickly offload images or video to a laptop or desktop, saving valuable time during shoots. It’s especially handy during multi-camera portrait sessions or when travelling with different devices like drones and mirrorless cameras. Lightweight and portable, it’s perfect for slipping into a camera bag so you’re always ready to transfer files on the go.

For portrait photographers who work tethered, the TetherTools TetherPro USB‑C to USB‑C 15‑foot cable is a clever and reliable tool. It provides a long, stable connection between mirrorless cameras and USB‑C laptops — perfect for studio shoots or location work where you want to review images live, sort files, or tweak settings in real time. We’ve used this on client shoots, enabling models and photographers alike to instantly view photos on a laptop, which speeds up the feedback process and ensures every shot is on point.

The Godox RFT-05 is a fantastic, flexible reflector that’s a favourite in portrait lighting. Its 5-in-1 design offers different diffusion and bounce surfaces — silver, gold, white, black, and translucent; to help you sculpt light on your subject, reduce shadows, or add a warm glow. On outdoor shoots, it’s brilliant for bouncing natural light into faces, while in a studio setup it can soften harsh continuous light or act as a makeshift softbox. Despite its 110 cm size, it folds down easily and slips into a bag, making it super practical for on-location work.

The Joby Beamo 12″ ring light is a perfect gift for portrait photographers who want soft, flattering illumination without hauling bulky light kits. Its adjustable brightness ensures you can fine-tune the light to match every skin tone and environment, while the built-in phone holder means a photographer or model can grab quick reference shots or behind-the-scenes videos on the fly. It’s lightweight enough to fit in most camera bags, so it can go from studio to living room or even a temporary on-location set with ease.

For sharp, shake-free portraits, a remote shutter release is incredibly useful — and the Hähnel HRC‑280 Pro delivers. Designed for Canon cameras, it lets you trigger the shutter without touching the camera, which is ideal for long exposures, self-portraits, and studio work. During tethered shoots or when you're compositing or using clever lighting setups, this makes a huge difference.

There are many other versions available for different cameras, so if this isn’t a Canon model, don’t worry, you can browse remote shutter options for your specific brand here.