Need help on camera & lens selection

PhotosGuy wrote in post #9605020
So you have 12 years experience, so why say, "I have not to long ago, began my photography adventure"? Then we could have avoided the GIGO.
My point was that you can jump in the shallow end as an amateur first.

I really wasn't trying to become a photographer until a year ago. Then the desire hit me. So as a stay at home mom of 4 kids, plus homeschooling them I have the time to pursue this desire and practice alot on my kids, family members, friends, etc. I hope to take classes soon and I am so excited! Since my husband is the only one working, I want to help bring in some money and I just love photography!!

To get back to your original question, I use PS7, with a RAW converter, (DPP is free from Canon), & it does everything I need. I have no idea what a used price would be for it today.

I'd prune some of the "not so hot" shots out of your gallery, & this page is just terrible? Black type on a dark gray background just doesn't work. Make it easy for your customers to get the info they need.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #9613334
To get back to your original question, I use PS7, with a RAW converter, (DPP is free from Canon), & it does everything I need. I have no idea what a used price would be for it today.

I'd prune some of the "not so hot" shots out of your gallery, & this page is just terrible? Black type on a dark gray background just doesn't work. Make it easy for your customers to get the info they need.

Yea I don't get that, your the 2nd person who said it is black with black writing. But when I look at it , it is just the way I made it to look, with a white background with black and pink writing. It makes no sense why it is looking that way to some but not to others? Idk. And I'm not sure which pics are considered not so hot by you. I like them all, so maybe you could point them out.

Free2BeMePhotography wrote in post #9613411
Yea I don't get that, your the 2nd person who said it is black with black writing. But when I look at it , it is just the way I made it to look, with a white background with black and pink writing. It makes no sense why it is looking that way to some but not to others? Idk. And I'm not sure which pics are considered not so hot by you. I like them all, so maybe you could point them out.

On internet explorer browser it is as you describe. On Mozilla Firefox it is as Frank (Photosguy) describes. Firefox is getting increasingly popular. Especially here because it has plug-ins that are suited for photographers.

Howdy Brandy,

Welcome to the forum! I can see that you are already well on your way to developing your own style from looking at the photos in your galleries. Lots of nice work in there.

You seem to enjoy a nice shallow depth of field in most of your portraits, so some faster Canon lenses could make your work easier and mean less time in post production. For example, the EF 28mm f/1.8 USM, EF 35mm f/2, EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, and the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM would probably make the sorts of images that you like to create easier to produce. You can read about these lenses at one more more of these sites:

http://www.fredmiranda​.com/reviews/showcat.p​hp?cat=2
http://the-digital-picture.com …s/Canon-Lens-Reviews.aspx
http://dsnyder.ws-e.com/canon/bh_prices.​html

These are not zoom lenses, so if you want to include more or less of the scene in the frame, you have to walk around a bit, but since most of your work is outside, that probably won't be a problem. All of these should produce good center sharpness and contrast with nice soft backgrounds at around f/2 or so.

As others have said, your camera body is fine for what you are trying to do. If you find yourself shooting more weddings, you may want to upgrade to one of the xD bodies so that your digital Rebel is not upstaged by uncle Joe's 50D, for example. However, that's a very minor perception issue. As long as you are confident shooting the body you have, there's really no reason to change it. I've always said that what's in front of the body (the lens and subject) and what's behind it (the photographer) have far greater impact on image quality than the body itself.

Oh, there are some really good books on photography business that are worth reading. I really liked The Real Business of Photography, by Richard Weisgrau. I've also just started Best Business Practices for Photographers, by John Harrington, and so far, it's excellent! We learned a lot from classes at Betterphoto.com as well as training from the PPA.

Hope this helps.

dmp-potn wrote in post #9615425
Howdy Brandy,

Welcome to the forum! I can see that you are already well on your way to developing your own style from looking at the photos in your galleries. Lots of nice work in there.

You seem to enjoy a nice shallow depth of field in most of your portraits, so some faster Canon lenses could make your work easier and mean less time in post production. For example, the EF 28mm f/1.8 USM, EF 35mm f/2, EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, and the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM would probably make the sorts of images that you like to create easier to produce. You can read about these lenses at one more more of these sites:

http://www.fredmiranda​.com/reviews/showcat.p​hp?cat=2
http://the-digital-picture.com …s/Canon-Lens-Reviews.aspx
http://dsnyder.ws-e.com/canon/bh_prices.​html

These are not zoom lenses, so if you want to include more or less of the scene in the frame, you have to walk around a bit, but since most of your work is outside, that probably won't be a problem. All of these should produce good center sharpness and contrast with nice soft backgrounds at around f/2 or so.

As others have said, your camera body is fine for what you are trying to do. If you find yourself shooting more weddings, you may want to upgrade to one of the xD bodies so that your digital Rebel is not upstaged by uncle Joe's 50D, for example. However, that's a very minor perception issue. As long as you are confident shooting the body you have, there's really no reason to change it. I've always said that what's in front of the body (the lens and subject) and what's behind it (the photographer) have far greater impact on image quality than the body itself.

Oh, there are some really good books on photography business that are worth reading. I really liked The Real Business of Photography, by Richard Weisgrau. I've also just started Best Business Practices for Photographers, by John Harrington, and so far, it's excellent! We learned a lot from classes at Betterphoto.com as well as training from the PPA.

Hope this helps.

aww, thanks so much for your sweet words and helpful infomation!

Good luck! I am looking over your site now. I wish you the best.

neptunerain wrote in post #9617816
Good luck! I am looking over your site now. I wish you the best.

Thanks!!! After being on this site, I now know that alot of my photos on my website are probably not right, as in some might be overexposed, post processing not right, etc. I just started not too long ago and the pictures I have on my website are of family members and friends so I could build my portfolio. I didn't realize that editing was so needed and now that I know that, I am learning how to use curves and I'm gettng photoshop as well But thanks again for your wishes! (and I hope you liked my pictures regardless of the editing and stuff not being right)

I think it is a great start. I do like your pictures. My only suggestion is to reduce the number of pics posted right now. Then add as you have more of different individuals. Good luck!