What to use?

A couple weeks ago when I was on vacation, I was taking pictures down at the beach, and (for the second year in a row) I took my cousins Christmas card picture. When I showed my aunt the picture to approve, as well as some others of them, she asked me if I would mind doing senior pictures for one of my cousins. While I have experimented in portrait photography, I have only touched the surface of the realm, and have relatively no idea what I am doing. I have a Canon T1i, the 18-55 autofocus OS lens that comes with it, and a 70-300 autofocus OS lens by Sigma. Should I get a macro lens to shoot portraits? Or is there anything else in particular I should have to shoot? I am in no way going to rush out and spend a ton of money on things I might use once, but I am looking for suggestions of things that would be useful (and not too expensive) to own/use.

The Canon 50 f/1.8 at around $100 is a nice lens for portraits. Also the Canon 85 f/f1.8 is another option for around $350-$400.

These were all taken with the 50 f/1.8.
Note: I used a YN-560 flash fired through a Westcott 43" shoot through umbrella or a 24" Qbox combined with a Cactus V5 transceiver set mounted on a lightstand for these shots. Add in an additional $150-$200 into your budget for the lighting gear if needed. Remember though some of the best senior pics I've seen are done with available lighting so I would practice with that if you are on a tight budget.

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

very nice images!!!

Thorrulz wrote in post #14663454
The Canon 50 f/1.8 at around $100 is a nice lens for portraits. Also the Canon 85 f/f1.8 is another option for around $350-$400.

These were all taken with the 50 f/1.8.
Note: I used a YN-560 flash fired through a Westcott 43" shoot through umbrella or a 24" Qbox combined with a Cactus V5 transceiver set mounted on a lightstand for these shots. Add in an additional $150-$200 into your budget for the lighting gear if needed. Remember though some of the best senior pics I've seen are done with available lighting so I would practice with that if you are on a tight budget.

| Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

| Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

| Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

I would put another vote in for the 50mm f1.8 for a crop sensor if you're on a budget... everyone needs that lens at some point anyway

If you are going to use flash, you will want it off-camera. The Canon 580EX II would be my choice if I were buying new. I currently use a 430EX II and two 550 EX units. I got two 550s off e-bay for less than the cost of one 580 II. The 550/580 can act as a flash commander on your T1i. Some cheap light stands and umbrellas/softboxes will fill out the lighting kit. Not counting the flash units themselves, I think I spent about $150 for stands, heads, umbrellas and a softbox. If you are looking to upgrade bodies, the newer cameras can act as a flash commander, freeing up an extra unit. Some bodies do 3 groups, some only do 2. Read before you buy.