Nikon 35mm 1.8 vs 50mm 1.8?

Right now i only have the kit lens 18-55mm for the nikon d5100. I'd like to get a new lens for portraits and for indoors. Which one is the better option? The Nikon 35mm 1.8 or the 50mm 1.8

The easiest way for you to figure that out is this.

Go outside, or inside doesn't matter.

Zoom your 18-55 to 35mm or so and snap a shot. Then zoom to 50mm or so and snap the same shot again. When you look at the two on your computer you'll probably know right away.

You already know that 50mm will take you closer to your subject than 35mm. Now all you have to do is decide which lens you want because when you have that lens mounted there's no zooming… There's walking but no zooming.

I have both of these lenses for my Nikon D90. I find each one useful in different situations. For family pix, like a birthday, I find the 35mm more useful because it's wider. The 50mm does a better job for portraits, but an 85mm would be even better, because of distortion. Here's Nikon's take on portraits.
http://www.nikonusa.com/...raits.html

The 35mm lens is "too" wide angle, for individual portraits. You want a lens that compresses the face a little so portraits are more pleasing. The 50mm size is the most popular. It works great for pictures of relatively young people.
I personally don't like it because I'm age 70 and shoot mostly age 50 and above. So I use the 200mm end of my 50-200 Pentax lens along with a Tiffen Warm Soft/FX #3 filter. I called Tiffen and was given this advise for my older subjects. I like my results, but could use a bit more finishing in Photoshop or another computer program. Or I could try investing in the next strongest filter in this series.
So all this said, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 is the wisest choice, or you could call Nikon and get their "take" on a good lens for your purpose.

Good Luck!

Nikon 1-800-645-6689 www.nikonusa.com

Tiffen 1-800-645-2522