I'm a photographer. PLEASE don't give me this for Christmas (again!)

camera lens mug
(Image credit: James Artaius)

I get it. I really do. Before I was a photographer, I had the same issue myself: photographers are hard to buy gifts for. (Well, they are if you are simply choosing a gift based on this specific hobby – I'm actually pretty easy to buy for, if you broaden the categories to include Schwarzenegger movies, pro wrestling and videogames.) 

There are many reasons why photographers are hard to buy gifts for, the most obvious being that photography is pretty impenetrable if you don't know anything about it. Remember buying your first camera and lens? The alphabet soup of model names, all the confusing numbers on lenses, the fact that stuff from one brand doesn't usually work on another…

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James Artaius
Editor

The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photo and lighting tutorials, as well as industry news, rumors and analysis for publications like Digital Camera MagazinePhotoPlus: The Canon MagazineN-Photo: The Nikon MagazineDigital Photographer and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and talks at The Photography Show. He also serves as a judge for the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest. An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.