With Christmas right around the corner you may be wondering what to get those photographer’s in your life or as a photographer you may be wondering what you could get yourself to make your life a little bit easier and/or more fun. ;) Well, I am here to help! I’ve compiled a list of a few of my favorite things! Grab a pen and start taking notes!
1. My absolutely favorite lens of all time is my 45mm Tilt Shift. There is just something super special about this lens. The blur, the slice of focus. It’s just the best. In fact, I plan on breaking it out a lot more in the coming year. Just say yes, it’s such a fun lens to be creative with.
2. My camera bag! So I’ve tried almost every well known camera bag in the industry, and I have never been as satisfied with them. Enter the best bag in the world, The House of Flynn Evermore bag! *DROOL* When I first laid my eyes on this bag, I knew we were destined for greatness! Seriously though, it’s gorgeous and fits SO.MUCH. I purchased two of these bags, the first one I bought was the Black Evermore with the fox interior, and the second bag I purchased was the Rose Gold Evermore. I do not need two, I just couldn’t say no. I’ll warn you, once you go House of Flynn you will have a huge addiction and need all the bags!
3. So I’ve had a long love affair with all things LensBaby. My first Lensbaby was the Composer (I don’t even think they sell this anymore by itself). My second LensBaby was the Composer Pro with the sweet 35mm optic. My third Lensbaby was the Silver Velvet 56, AND my next LensBaby will be the Composer Pro II with 50mm Edge optic. That baby is on my Christmas list and I’ve been good all year! As I mentioned above I have a love affair with dreamy, blurry lenses and while the Tilt Shift is still my all time favorite the LensBaby’s lenses are something special. The light leaks and flares are out of this world.
4. My Shootsac! I love to switch my lenses out during my sessions so this bag is a must. I’m constantly going back and forth between my 35mm 1.4, my tilt shift, and usually one more out of my collection depending on my mood. This makes the switch happen that much faster so I’m not missing those special moments.
5. My editing tools! So you all know that I sell my very own photoshop actions. If you don’t, go check them out! I am working on releasing my new set at the beginning of the New Year and I’m also going to be releasing Make Believe Actions first Lightroom Presets! These tools make my life SO MUCH EASIER and they are SO PRETTY! Stay tuned for those and check out the Seaside Set! Those are gorgeous and I still use many of those on a daily basis and if you use the code ‘FAVS’ you can get 50% off for a limited time!
6. Another tool I LOVE and use frequently is Pixellu Smart Albums. Before Smart Albums, I would spend hours and hours, days and weeks trying to create layouts for my clients. Not anymore. Smart Albums is seriously genius and it makes my life happy. Seriously, buy some happiness if you haven’t already. I hear they are on sale through today, so HURRY!!
7. So this next one isn’t exactly a photographer thing, but it’s still worth the mention. WINE. My personal favorite, Cabernet and a good Hallmark channel Christmas movie make burning the midnight oil while editing that much easier.
8. My next favorite thing, Chatbooks! As a mom with a camera, Chatbooks makes printing my iPhone snaps easy peasy. I’ve subscribed my instagram feed to Chatbooks and every 60 photos I get a printed book in the mail. As a photographer and mom, not all of my pictures make the Instagram cut so I also subscribed to have all my iPhone camera feed favorites printed in their own little book. It’s important to print your pictures and this just makes it easy.
9.Camera Straps ~ Made With Love. Again, I’ve purchased a ton of straps throughout my career and these are my favorite. I love the quality, they’re beautiful and they last!
10. So my last item to list isn’t something tangible, but any photographer/person you love, will love this gift. I work my booty off for my family, so the time I get to spend with them is so cherished and needed. I love to go somewhere with my husband and children just to spend time with them. Whether it’s to a park, to the movie theater, or just cuddling on the couch with some hot cocoa and a good movie– these moments and memories are the best. So put your phone down and be here now. You won’t ever regret this time. :)
Merry Christmas to you all! I hope this list is helpful in your search for the perfect gift! AND because a blog post is never finished without an image here are some images I took of my daughter Lyla earlier this year. These were edited with my Make Believe Photoshop Actions the Seaside Set. To be exact, I used ‘Yellow Kite’ at 50% opacity and ‘Sweetly’ with the ‘lift’ layer turned off. Also, these images were taken using a combo of my tilt shift and my Lensbaby Velvet 56. Enjoy!
The post A few of a photographer’s favorite things…mine at least. appeared first on Nichole Burnett Photography.