Ten Gifts You Can Create with your Portraits (Other than Photos)
There are just a few weeks left until Christmas, and the stores are in full holiday shopping mode! The holiday decor, nonstop Black Friday and Cyber Monday emails from every store imaginable, giant sale signs and “hot buy” stacks that you have to dodge as you wander through the the aisles, Mariah Carey screeching over the airwaves…whether you’re more of an in-store or online shopper, ‘tis the season!
One of the most personal and long-lasting gifts you can give a friend or loved one is a photograph. And these days, there are so many things you can do with your photos besides print them to hang on your walls or decorate your desks/counters/tabletops with framed prints! The source I use to host my galleries, SmugMug, offers a wide variety of print options as well as photo gifts, including greeting cards, albums, and keepsakes such as magnets, mugs, puzzles, keychains, mouse pads, luggage tags, coasters, keepsake boxes, and playing cards. It’s super easy for my clients to order these gifts right from their galleries! I even have a print shop where you can purchase gifts made from some of my travel/art-based photography.
Here are a few of my favorite photo gifts and other suggested vendors where you can find them:
And if you still need to order Christmas cards with your images, be sure to check out BasicInvite.com and use my partner code for free shipping and a HUGE discount!
Photobooks/scrapbooks—I was creating scrapbooks long before I became a photographer. One of my dear friends was a Creative Memories consultant, and we used to get together monthly and work on our scrapbooks! Hobby Lobby and Michael’s are also great places to find scrapbooking supplies. Since the age of digital photography, creating photobooks has replaced the old-fashioned scrapbook for many (and they are often quicker to create)! Miller’s (for professional photographers) or Mpix (for consumers) would be my top choice if money were no option. Artifact Uprising is also a high-quality option. But if you’re looking for something on a budget, Shutterfly has a ton of customizable designs and often has coupon codes that help with cost even more!
Christmas ornaments—This is my go-to gift for my wedding clients! You can never go wrong with a photo-based Christmas ornament…it will be used year after year and is a fantastic keepsake! I have ordered the glass ornaments from Shutterfly, and I have always been quite impressed with the quality!
Notecards—Everyone needs a good set of notecards, especially thank-you notes! I love creating notecards with my photos as thank-you cards for my clients and friends. When my husband and I got married, we took a special photo holding the words “thank” and “you” to make thank-you cards to send for all of our wedding gifts! I have also used cards designed with photos of our children as thank-you notes for birthday and Christmas gifts. Shutterfly is a great source for ordering photo cards, and another one of my favorite, budget-friendly sources is Vistaprint.
Magnets—Whose refrigerator isn’t covered with magnets holding up photos of friends and family? And are they always falling off the fridge? Magnets made from photos make great gifts for family and friends, and they stick to the fridge themselves! Shutterfly and my client gallery host, SmugMug, has some great magnet options.
Puzzles—My children pull out the puzzles I’ve made with our family photos frequently. It’s a great way to memorialize a special memory and get to revisit it again and again! Shutterfly makes it super easy to design your own puzzles, and SmugMug also has a puzzle keepsake option.
Playing Cards—I don’t know about you, but my children LOVE to play games like Go Fish, Crazy Eights, and Speed. Creating a custom set of playing cards with their photos is a great gift for kids who love to play card games! Shutterfly and SmugMug have great options for designing playing cards.
Mugs—Shutterfly, Vistaprint, and SmugMug
Coasters—Shutterfly, Vistaprint and SmugMug
Notebook/notepad—Shutterfly and Vistaprint
Stickers—Shutterfly and Vistaprint
Please drop me a comment below if you found this resource helpful!
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Kimberly Cauble is a teacher and wedding & portrait photographer in the Charlotte, NC area, who loves capturing special moments for people.