Mother’s Day Gift Ideas for Moms who love Photography

It’s not too soon to start thinking about Mother’s Day gift ideas ( Mother’s Day is May 11th. ) Lots of moms these days are taking an interest in digital photography — both as professionals or hobbyists as well as in an effort to better document their children’s and family’s lives. Whether it’s through a fancy new DSLR; a handy, convenient point and shoot or through the ever-improving and often-relied-on-even-for-those-of-us-with-“fancier”-equipment cell phone photography, moms are often looking for new products to enhance their memory-saving efforts and for beautiful ways to display their favorite images. There are a lot of great gift ideas out there to choose from; here is a list of some favorites and hopefully some you may not have thought of . . .

Gift Her with Her Own Online Portfolio

Is your partner/favorite mom in your life getting serious about her photography? Maybe she’d like to start presenting and possibly selling some of her photos online but she needs a little extra encouragement to get started? Or maybe she’s looking for a secure but also attractive way to organize and share family photos with friends and relatives that are scattered around the globe. Consider gifting her with her own online portfolio.

Zenfolio is my personal favorite because of how easy it is to use and to customize with numerous attractive layouts and options to choose from. You get unlimited storage, the ability to create slideshows, upload videos. If you choose, you can easily allow other family members to download the images you share with them. I also love the fact that the site includes built-in SEO (for those that are hoping to build an online portfolio to showcase their work.)

There are various levels of services to choose from that fit everyone from the more casual user to the professional and your subscription also comes with Member Benefits like discounts at Plywerk, BorrowLenses, moo.com, calibration services . . . and here’s a referral code to use to receive 10% off your subscription! Enter CQP-8SJ-32Z during sign up.

Help Her Test Drive Some New Gear

Let’s face it, cameras and camera equipment is expensive! And sometimes it’s hard to know before you purchase it if a camera or lens is the right one for you. Why not test out a new lens or a new camera body first? Or maybe you don’t want to spend the money to own a telefoto lens (for example,) but you’d like to bring one on your next family vacation . . .

A gift certificate from BorrowLenses.com is the perfect solution!*

Read All About it. . .

apartment therapy did a great round-up of photography books for all kinds of enthusiasts. Check it out here: Photography Books for the Shutterbug

I also highly recommend Scott Kelby’s series on Digital Photography, now available as a boxed set. These books are well-written, easy to understand and incredibly helpful. I refer back to them frequently.*

Keep it Class-y

Help her continue to develop her creative genius with some online classes! CreativeLive.com offers a huge variety of classes for every type and level of photographer and they’ve recently added a few other topics as well. Online classes are especially especially convenient for busy moms. You can watch live classes at CreativeLive for free but when you purchase a class, it’s yours to keep and to watch at your convenience as often as you want/are able.

Help Mom Stay in the Picture . . .

Perhaps you’ve seen this article by Allison Tate on the importance of Mom’s getting in pictures with their children?

Contact your favorite local photographer and see about scheduling a Mother & Child Photo Session! If you really want to knock it out of the park this Mother’s Day, include a pre-photoshoot hair and makeup session for mom, too!!

. . . and keep giving mom opportunities to get in the pic with this Muku Shutter Remote for iPhone and Android available at photojojo.com . Per photojojo: “The Muku is a bluetooth shutter release, that lets you take photos from up to 30 feet away from your phone (Android or iPhone).”

Book It!

Help your favorite mom organize and print all those beautiful memories she’s captured with a high quality photo book! Blurb.com is one favorite and easy to use option and I also love and recommend Artifact Uprising.

You could upload images and create the book for her, but I’m willing to be she’s going to want some creative control . . . unfortunately, blurb.com does not yet offer gift certificates (though it sounds like they’re working on it) but you could create your own and offer it as a great way to spend some time together.

Artifact Uprising does offer gift certificates for their books and other beautiful photo products . . . and while we’re on the subject . . .

Display It!

Artifact Uprising is a new favorite and offers a number of truly beautiful was to display photos and to print photo books and various products.
They even offer an instagram-friendly photo album that you can design directly from your phone (I’ve done it, it’s super easy and quality is great!) And because I just know you’ll find gorgeous products you and your favorite mom will love, here’s a link that gets you 10% off your first purchase: http://curebit.com/x/GbBYyQ (order by May 1st to ensure it arrives by Mother’s Day!)