sportyman140 Loc: Juliette, GA

I concur :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Pepper Loc: Planet Earth Country USA

There's so much nonsense in this post it's ridiculous.

waykee7 Loc: Cortez, Colorado

A zoom lens has no value? What?

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Not at all. Since cthahn was addressing portraits, he was absolutely correct - except that a zoom lens also works..

The most important step in a portrait is to establish personal contact between the photographer and the subject.

Portraits are intended to please the client and [usually just] their family. Grandma does not want every hair on her lip to show. That could mean using soft focus, flattering lighting and probably some post processing to minimize blemishes.

Portraits are rarely printed larger than 8x10.

Wahawk Loc: NE IA

The only nonsense was about the zoom!!

Blaster6 Loc: Central PA

Nope. Guess I confused you.

I say get a zoom only because it can be used for portraits and other things too. It is more of an all in one. I good prime is great for portraits and many other things too but is less versitile than a zoom.

You blur the background either by having the background far away from your subject, shooting with a large aperture or both. Sorry to say if you don't know this you have no business thinking about charging people for photos.

Everybody thinks being a photographer is easy money and anyone can do it but I promise it will be the hardest, lowest paying job you have ever had. You will invest thousands with equipment and just when you think you are going to get a paying job, someone will come along and do it for free just for their portfolio.

Read, study, learn. You will never get there by asking questions in a forum. You need a foundation of knowledge first before a forum like this becomes useful for fine tuning what you have learned. An hour watching youtube videos is worth a month here asking questions one at a time.

Your camera & lens budget will not even be enough to equip your studio with lights, backdrops, furniture, props, etc. Sure, you could be a "natural light outdoor photographer" but so is everyone else with a camera.

For now, get any cheap DLSR with a kit zoom lens. A T2i is all you need. Shoot thousands of photos and learn with it. Stay out of full auto mode. You learn nothing there and are just wasting time. After you have taken about 10,000 good photos with that camera you should understand what you need to move on.

Sorry if I was a bit harsh but too many people roll out of bed and decide to be a pro photographer and their plan is something along the lines of...
Step 1: buy a camera.
Step 2: charge lots of money for photos
Step 3: join a forum and ask why my subject is blurry when my background is sharp
Step 4: bankruptcy, divorce, front page on youarenotaphotographer.com

Don't ruin a potentially enjoyable hobby by trying to make it a job and don't try to make it a job until you have mastered the hobby. Post pictures here and on other sites for critique. Your friends and family will always tell you that you are awesome but they are lying AND they don't know any better. Almost every momtog I see running a facebook photography business posts absolutely horrid photos that are out of focus, improperly exposed, poorly lit, poorly composed and just generally bad. Their friends rave about how great they are but then come to me for their family portraits. If you are really serious about starting the protrait business be prepared for a lot of study and expense and ingore the people who tell you how good you are. Listen to the people who tell you that you suck but only if they are able to tell you why.

waykee7 Loc: Cortez, Colorado

Blaster's comments are RIGHT ON THE MONEY. Or more accurately, since there is so little money in photography, and the competition for those few $$ is so intense, his comments are precisely TRUE!

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

I shoot portraits with very few exceptions. I have a Canon 70D and a Canon T3i. I use an 18-135mm lens which I find works for all my needs. I do have a 50mm which I sometimes use. Many of the photos on my website were shot with the T3i - some earlier work was shot with Canon film cameras and scanned. If you'd like to take a look it is www.deborahmiltonphotography.com

sirlensalot Loc: Arizona

Camera aside, lighting, PP software, computer, will exceed your budget by quite a bit. Suggest budget of $2500 would be more realistic for starting out in portraits. You will be fine with 12MP or more. Lots of used and/or refurbished models available. Try KEH, manufacturers, craigslist, eBay, Adorama, B&H, Camera camera.
Previous advice for 85mm or 70-200 is sound, but you will need a wider angle for group shots as well. A decent wide-angle like the Tokina 11-16 new will eat up your budget. If you are considering using full frame vs. cropped sensor camera, a 135mm would be a very good choice. Some brands like Nikon and Pentax have used the same lens mounts for many years making their older manual focus lenses available which work nicely in studio and/or on tripod. You can really stretch the budget dollars that way.
Studio lights, reflectors, umbrellas, can be purchased from overseas companies to start out for a fraction of the quality gear sold here. Don't give up. It can be done, but I am afraid unless you are a DIY whiz, you will require a budget greater than you are anticipating.

Yeagerfamily Loc: Pa

Thanks for sharing w your pics w me Deborah I've been reading as well as watching some videos in reguards to the canon t3i camera and I'm thinking that's gonna be a good starter camera to Practicing taking pics while I'm taking my online course.

Annie_Girl Loc: It's none of your business

Poop the OP seems to think that starting a photography business is as easy as buying a starter DSLR kit from Walmart, slapping it on auto and setting up a Facebook page.

She got upset with me in another thread when I pointed out it takes so much more than that to this and she should take 2 years to learn and shoot anything and everything before she even starts talking about clients.

mdorn Loc: Portland, OR

Gosh... don't breath a word about becoming a pro---Oops, too late. I'm sure all the reviews you are reading will help you narrow down your questions. The more specific you are, the better quality of answers you'll get from this forum.

By now you've realized that MP is not your primary focus (no pun intended). Portrait photography is easy. Good portrait photography is very difficult. Your plan to buy an inexpensive camera to practice with is a good one. I would also do a lot of reading. Here are a few books to check out:

Tony Northrup's Photography Buying Guide
50 Portraits by Gregory Heisler
On-Camera Flash by Neil van Niekerk

Tony Northrup's buying guide is pretty good for the beginner, and it gives you options for most budgets. The On-Camera Flash book might be a little advanced for someone who doesn't understand the exposure triangle, but if you've got that down, then it's a great resource. Yes, you will need to learn how to use a flash. If anyone tells you that they prefer to shoot in "natural" light, then they are telling you they don't understand how to use one.

So on that note. Welcome to the art of a side business; hopefully, your spouse or significant other has a real job with health insurance. Everyone else is a pro (or at least they talk like one), so hop on board. :-)

mdorn Loc: Portland, OR

Maybe you should let folks find out for themselves? No matter how much wisdom I try to impart on my children, they seem to find their own way, make their own mistakes, and become their own person. This is why it's more important for the OP to ask specific questions, rather than which camera should I buy.

Bram boy Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada

well you certainly don't have to brake the bank on this . a Nikon D 3200 will get you pic just as good as the D800 . so will the D5200 . as long as your not
cropping and blowing them way huge . I would get a refurbished D7000 for $600 , and there is a ton of len's out there . but get a good one

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

I guess it's different now, but years ago, if you wanted to become a professional portrait photographer with your own business, you first worked as an assistant for a few years where you honed your skills and learned about the in and outs of the portrait business. THEN you started your own business! At that point, you have already learned what equipment you need, how to find clients, etc.