pammy_g

<p>Dan - Great suggestion! Something to practice on during the winter. Obviously, I can't learn this fast in a week since that's when the baptism is, which is why I'm gonna pass on it. </p>

<p>As for PS CS5 - I wanted to use a lot of the actions I bought which does wonders for eyes, colors, skin smoothing. Lightroom I like to use as a workflow and use my plug in color efex pro here and there. I got hundreds of presets as well, but for baby photos or face portraits, I feel like actions and photoshop would be the best type of editing.</p>

<p>I almost feel like I shouldn't do this because I have no experience with indoor events and I don't know what I'd do...I don't want to end up taking pictures she isnt happy with, but at the same time, the baptism is a week away. Maybe I should research photographers than can do that for her on a short notice, because I don't feel confident enough to do this while I'm still learning and growing as a photographer.</p>

<p>That's a really good idea - I think I will stop by this weekend since I've never been there. She said the reception is connected to the church as well. I was thinking to use my zoom lenses.... I don't know what's appropriate to take for pictures inside a church...how close to be, or how far to be. I don't wanna be so close since it's a baptism. I have NO idea how it works but there's a first for everything!</p>

<p>Hey there guys! I own a Nikon D5000 and I have lenses Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm, Nikon AF-S Nikkor 55-200mm and Nikon 35mm f/1.8. I don't have any flash systems because I don't really shoot indoors. I'm currently building my photography portfolio and I offered photography services for free just so I can build up portfolio and get a lot of pix taken so I can complete my photography website and start a small business as a side job. I use Lightroom & Color Efex Pro for editing, but now I am learning photoshop CS5 and doing everything I can to learn it. I bought a whole bunch of actions as well...but I am still going nuts learning how to use it! Do you know of any good courses or books I can read to learn more about photoshop because I really want to excel at it, especially for my business.</p>

<p>Another issue I have is that I am taking pics of a engaged couple this weekend, and they asked me if I can shoot their baptism. It will be in a church and at a reception later...since I don't have a flash system, I am hestistant to say no, especially since I have never done indoor photos. What should I do? What do you guys recommend I do? Should I get a flash system and do the event? Or should I decline and stick to what I know best and do better at? I never really liked using flash indoors either way because I feel flash annoys people. </p>

<p>Any tips or suggestions appreciated, thanks!</p>

<p>Wait no - I never shoot indoors - all my shots are outdoors. If I ever do indoors, it's to shoot newborn babies indoors in the winter at their homes.</p>

<p>Hmm - I really need to learn the settings over again and maybe clean the camera inside and on the lenses... I haven't cleaned the inside yet so it's possible that could also be an issue.</p>

<p>While we're on the subject of off lighting system...any suggestions what to use since it's all new to me? </p>

<p>One step at a time - I don't have a flash because I don't do indoor photography. I will get all that and do that once I've mastered manual settings first and that will take some time for me to really get a hang of. All my photos are indoors except for newborn babies which is easy to do indoors. </p>

<p>When I say clear, bright pictures, I meant detail, quality and sharpness of the pictures. When I say I want high quality pictures, I mean that the photo is High Quality not because of HOW I take them. I already know I can take amazing pictures, what I'm talking about is the details and quality in my photos.</p>

<p>I've played around with the 35mm a lot and I've found my 55-200mm to be a lot more sharper in most of the settings. The focal range I'm looking for can be from wide to 70mm but that doesn't exist so I'll take something close to it at least, and get a sigma wide angle so all I'd have to do is switch lenses to a wide wide between the one lenses that has everything else I'm looking for.</p>

<p>Yeah sorry - I had it on auto...don't fully know the manual settings as I'm really learning a lot the more I practice and the more I learn from others. <br>

I don't care about weight or how loud lenses are, or how small, I want an amazing lenses that can zoom in (doesn't have to be extremely far), give me amazing quality photos, a great peice of glass, and something that won't require me to do so much editing. I want bright and clear pictures. You get my idea basically.</p>

<p>Yes, I meant that the pictures came out noisy, I was upset that happened during a photo session because while the surroundings were clear and looking great, on people it looked noisy - I don't mind my lenses to be noisy (as in actual noise) at all! It does not bother me since Im hard of hearing...I actually think it's pretty cool, lol.<br>

You know, I was actually looking at the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 The reviews are fantastic too - it seems a lot like what I was looking for. I also was looking at wide angle lenses but I wasn't sure if wide angle is what I'm really looking for in the type of photography I do, so I figured either that or the telephoto zoom would be my best bet.<br>

Also - even tho I have the 35mm lenses and the 55-200mm, my point is I want one lenses that can give me everything I want and what I'm looking for so I don't have to switch out lenses all the time. Like I said, I want lenses that can stay on my camera for at least 90% of the time.</p>

<p>So - I recently purchased Nikon 35mm f/1.8 in addition to my Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm and Nikon AF-S Nikkor 55-200mm that I already have and I gotta say I was loving it the first time around I was using it, until I took it out one day for a mother & daughter photo session outdoors and it appeared to be very noisy! I'm thinking it's due to glare since these lenses works GREAT in low lights and at night, which is why I am gonna hang onto to them. However, my 55-200mm is SHARP and I LOVE it...so I really want a lenses to upgrade to that I can just keep it on my camera 90% of the time without having to switch between lenses cos I do hate doing that. I want something very sharp because I do edit a lot of my pictures and I love bright, clear pictures. I don't want to be TOO close to people but not too far either when I don't have room to back up in several occasions. What I usually do is Engagement photos, family photos, portraits, mostly outdoor shooting and sometimes newborn photos indoors. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated ... I'd love to try to keep budget under 1,000. This is a long term investment that I really want to make because I really want the right and perfect lenses for my new business which is currently developing. </p>

<p>Well honestly, I switch a lot between 35 to 55mm so I think I'm gonna get 35mm. Since both my lenses has 55mm, I rarely use that focal length and I always wanted something shorter than 55mm so I decided on 35mm. This discussion allowed me to think smart and figure out what I truly want in photography and either way, I can tell that the 35mm is a great lenses to have in my collection and it will be great to experiment with till I really understand what my perfect lenses are!</p>

Well I've found one that goes for 275 dollars and I'm

Okay with that. But what I usually do is try a lot of places outdoors that has a great backdrop, and I hate to be far

away most of the time, only sometimes, I don't want to be super close where I'm almost in their place, so I guess I like

to move around a lot but definitely not too far away because there's times where I go to old buildings so I can't be

across the street or in the middle in case of cars or because I'll shoot on the beach or lake so I need to be closer than

that. Hope that helps to give an idea of my range.

c.p.m. Do those lenses autofocus with nikon d5000? I'm not sure but I thought I read that the autofocus doesn't work

with the D5000

<p>Thanks for the responses guys...I've decided to go with your suggestions and invest in good "portrait" lenses for now. I will just get ultrawide lenses for Christmas when my brothers ask me what I want for xmas...that way I get best of both worlds.<br>

I do get great pictures with the lenses I have now but I want more. I want more character and depth in my photos and I want to get more creative. I like to be artsy in a way sometimes. I want to explore and check out new lenses so I can really explore everything in photography and find out what I'm best in, if that makes sense.<br>

So..Any suggestions on really good portrait lenses?? Low budget on this one as well... and it has to work with Nikon D5000 Autofocus..</p>

<p>Hey there! I have been really getting into photography, and I am in the process of starting a photography business to take portraits, engagement shoots, families, senior shoots or babies, and so on. All my photo sessions take outdoors...right now, I am just really getting a ton of practice in, expanding my portfolio, editing with Lightroom & Color Efex, and just learning more as I go. I have done a ton of research, ton of traveling and experimenting with photography for many years, and even took courses in college for it as well.</p>

<p>I currently use a Nikon D5000 and I use two lenses: Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm and Nikon AF-S Nikkor 55-200mm. I am definitely saving up for my dream lenses which I'm still undecided on several choices so for the time being, I wanted to get lenses that is around 200-400 dollars. Right now, I'm really interested in the ultrawide lenses and I have my eye on the Sigma 10-20mm because I'm really creative with landscape/outdoor shots and the lenses looks like something I can have fun with and take amazing pictures. I'm really more into getting amazing pictures rather than having the build or test charts be perfect. However, I am wondering if that's even gonna benefit me since I've never used ultrawide lenses (but have read so much about)...It seems that it won't benefit me at all for my photo sessions but it will for outdoor shoots. If I shouldn't get ultrawide lenses, what do you guys recommend for me to try out? If I should use ultrawide, can anyone tell me if the Sigma is worth it? Any info appreciated, thanks!</p>