Lets face it…. times are scary. People are holding on to whatever assets they have. It will be a slim holiday gift giving season. In some ways that may be a good thing. Perhaps we will be more modest in our giving and concentrate on heart-felt gifts. Maybe homemade gifts will be on the increase.

Receiving a gift that was made especially for you can be such a thrill. Offering a handmade gift to a loved one can be such a blessing.

As photographers we have a skill, perhaps even a talent. Most of us make our images for ourselves. It gives us pleasure. A side benefit is the ability to share our art with others.

What better gift can we give this season than a piece of our love…the gift of photography? Pull out those contact sheets, negative sleeves, boxes of slides, DVDs or CDs of digital imagery. Take a trip down memory lane, looking for just the right imagery to give to your family and friends this holiday season.

If you are a shrewd shopper you can inexpensively matt and frame your prints. Perhaps you can print them yourself or you can send them out to a lab. You can have them printed on canvas and wrapped around stretcher bars as a “gallery wrap”. That is a very popular way to present your work. It is slick looking and does not require a frame.

You can use one of the on-line services to create a book as a gift. Maybe it is a book about your shared vacation. Perhaps it is a book on your family heritage, using scanned family photos and documents. Pictures of the kids and grandkids are always a hit.

Maybe you are a nature or bird photographer. You could create a grouping of images, along a theme, that could be made into a wall assemblage. Perhaps images of old barns, or back roads could be an interesting grouping.

There are companies that will put your images on everything from woven coverlets to mouse pads and mugs. There are companies that will make photo jewelry for you, or put a photo on a handbag.

The point, of course, is that you can give your family and friends a gift that no one else can do. Your gift will not be another ugly sweater or wacky electronic item that will be re-gifted or exchanged. Your gift will command a place in their home and hearts. It will be a gift from your heart to theirs.

An added benefit is that your wallet will absorb minimum impact on these gifts. Carefully planned, your gift of photography should be economical and simply super.

Please visit my website at www.suebloom.com