Help me, experts! I am looking for an upgrade to my very basic SB 300. My requirements are simple: of course, must be compatible with my Nikon D5500, TTL, a FAST recycle time, able to turn so I can bounce off walls, and not large or loud. I am ready to venture into 3rd party brands, but I have heard Yongnuo manuals are very difficult to understand and I love a good manual. Your insights are most appreciated.

I have for sale the White book. Mint condition -- $25 + $5 shipping. Looks like I never opened it and yes, I would have been lost without it.

Wow, this looks so blurry. It is a raw image, but sharp.

I am struggling with outdoor lighting. There's brown triangles on the sides of the older girl's face. The younger girl's face is washed out, and the dad is just splotchy. They're all so pale and odd-looking it's been horrible to try and edit this series. Using a brush in LR to warm them up doesn't get rid of the splotchiness. This was taken in shade at 4 p.m. with the sun behind and to the right a little of them. F 4.5 1/50 ISO 110. WB was set to cloudy on my Nikon D5500. What am I doing wrong? Thank you!

Thank you so much. The one upcoming event is huge and right at a really busy time for me. As fun as the event is, it takes many hours afterward to edit, send to a lab to get printed, and prepare the prints for distribution. I've decided to just say I am super-busy this year and will have to bow out. Thanks for the tax reminder!

These are all such good suggestions and thoughts. I really, really appreciate your feedback.

Yes, that is what I decided to do. Going to make sure I am busy "earning a living" that day.

Thank you, all, for your wise and thoughtful replies. I've decided to limit my free work to one big event per year -- most likely the five nights of Vacation Bible School for the children. I take a ton of pics, edit the best 60, and give to the media team for a musical slide show. Thank you again!

Oh gosh, yes, this is true.

No, I did not. I didn't realize they needed photographers at that time.

For those of you who are regular churchgoers: do you give of your time and skills to your church for free? I have done three major events at our church (voluntarily) for free -- and now I am about to feel a little "used." Two of these have required getting printing done, which they pay for, but as you know, this is work. I was hoping that my name would become known and that I'd get a few paying clients. But it hasn't happened. A friend told me I should continue shooting these events "with a servant's heart." The kicker is that the school attached to the church recommended another photographer to shoot their senior portrait sessions and another showed up to take their website pictures. Another big event is coming up -- thoughts? (I think they're expecting me to voluntarily shoot it like I did last year.) Thank you!

I purchased both a Canon Powershot SX60 with a 1/2.3 sensor and a RX10m3 with the 1". Realistically, I saw absolutely no difference between the two in terms of image quality for the kind of photos I bought these for, bird and wildlife photography. I suggest renting or purchasing two of your front runners and do the tests yourself. I've found for myself that online tests, reviews, etc. can't hold a candle to what you can do yourself with the typical pictures you take.

Nice sunset and greetings from Bradley County!

Yes, carry-on for batteries. When I flew a couple weeks ago, I also had to put painters tape on the contact end. You could also buy a battery case to avoid the tape thing. Also check with your airline regs to see if they have a limit of how many batteries you can take. Delta had a limit of two per type, but no one at either airport really checked. (They were upset, though, about my hiking boots!).

Can't tell you how much I appreciate all these helpful replies. Thank you so much. Only one spot shows up on the actual image after I cleaned it with a soft cotton ball. I think I'll have a camera shop look at it now. Thanks again!