Best Specific lenses, Portrait, Landscape etc?

I currently have a Nikon d5000 and am wanting to get into portrait photography (mainly studio) i have looked up various sites etc on most popular lenses, but what would people here consider the best lens for portrait photography, Landscape photography and also Marco shots. I currently have the standar 18-55mm and also a 55-mm.

Any info on lenses would be great!

Studio portrait: AF-S 50 mm f/1.4 or AF-S 60 mm f/2.8
Landscape: AF-S 12-24 mm f/4 or AF-S 10-24 mm f/3.5~f/4.5
Macro: AF-S 60 mm f/2.8, AF-S 85 mm f/3.5, AF-S 105 mm f/2.8

What 55 mm lens do you have? Micro-Nikkor 55 mm macro? 55 mm f/1.2?

* The 70-200 f/2.8 and 50mm f/1.4 seem popular for portraiture.

* For macro you may want to research the AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G ED VR. The lens was made specifically for the APS-C sensor in your D5000.

* For landscape you may want to study the AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED. The reviews have been good and from the files I've seen distortion is well controlled. If you need ultra-wide then the AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED might be of interest.

Happy Holidays!

For portraits: The 50mm f/1.8 is good, only a little more than $100. But on the D5000, it will not autofocus. With some practice, you will get used to manual focusing for portraits. It's a lot tougher if you want to use that lens for moving objects though. If you want the autofocus, the 50mm f/1.4 will work. It's more expensive, but you get a little nicer glass and 2/3s of a stop wider aperture in addition to the AF functionality.

For landscapes: Good wide-angle lenses are quite expensive. The Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 is great for landscape work though on a crop-frame sensor like the D5000. The Nikkor 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 will be a little sharper, and a lot more expensive. In my opinion, it's worth the investment to get the Nikkor over the Tamron if you plan on printing at larger than about 11x14 inches.

For macro: Nikkor's 105mm macro is astoundingly sharp, has really nice bokeh due to the nine-bladed aperture, and gives you a great working distance for shooting more shy macro subjects (like butterflies, etc.). Tamron's 60mm f/2 will be very nearly as sharp, give you a little more control over depth-of-field, and cost less, but you sacrifice some of the working distance, so you might find it hard to shoot something like butterfly close-ups without scaring away the butterfly.

If you already have a 55mm, depending on the f-stop and glass quality, it may be suitable for portrait work. If the maximum f/number is 2.8 or lower, it should be fine. Otherwise, you'll want a new one.

The 18-55mm lens is good for snapshots, but really not much else. It's too soft to do good landscape work at the wide end if you intend on printing, and it's too slow to do good portrait work at the telephoto end. I would say sell it. You may be able to get $100 out of it towards your next lens.

A camera lens is a lot like a wrench for an automobile. It all depends on what you are working with at the moment. There's a lot more to photography, studio or location, than could be explained in this venue. One of the things about different focal lengths of lenses is the control it gives the photographer over the perspective of the image. For example, if a picture is taken of a person with a very short (perhaps wide angle) lens straight on (head and shoulders) your instinct would be to move in close to fill the frame (picture area on the film) which could cause the person to have an overly large nose. Using a long telephoto could cause visual compression and give a flat appearance.

I suggest that you visit your school or local library where you will find a number of books which will explain and illustrate how to produce pictures that people will like and buy. A standard digital camera, as you mentioned in your question, is adequate for many aspects of photography. It all depends upon the ultimate use the prospective customer has in mind. (After all, he is the guy with the money) Even today film cameras which produce negatives and transparencies up to 8x10 inches (actual film size) are common and necessary for certain applications.

Studio photography is a very competitive field and requires skill and experience. Perhaps with a fair understanding of the art (business) you can get a job with an established photographer and gain enough experience to strike out on your own.

In any event, Good Luck!