What are some ideas for starting up in photography?
My husband loves photography and is actually very good at it. He also enjoys doing photo art. Now, I do not know a whole lot about this stuff, but I want to get him something great for his birthday. Since this is what he loves and he is thinking about starting up a freelance business, I thought I should get something to help him out. He has a Nikon d40 and another lens that he can switch out. I think it is a Nikon ED 70-300mm (Again I'm not sure what the correct name for all of it is). He mostly likes to take pictures outside of animals or nature. He recently started to take some engagement photos for people in our family and also some graduation photos. I think one day, when he finishes college, he will think about studio shooting, but everything is outside for now. He has talked about a cannon camera. He also has mentioned some flashes. Any help would be great. I'm even wondering if there's a good magazine that I could get him a subscription too?
I'm a Nikon Man myself… So I will not tell you to get a Cannon. I believe Nikon is a better built. I started with a Nikon D40x… And soon outgrew it.
My suggestion:
Nikon d300s and a SB900 external flash.
Also a Nikor 50mm 1.4 or 1.8.
That there's a lot of $… So maybe an all around lens… 18-105VR. Good for all kinds of stuff. I love the nature shots as well.
Great combo
If he already has Nikon gear, then getting him a Canon would not make a lot of sense. You'd have to get all the lenses to match. Unless, you think he would like a walkabout camera. This is a higher quality point and shoot that is easy to put in a pocket that can be taken when the heavier gear is too much of a burden. The Canon S95 is a good choice for this. Also the Olympus XZ-1. Fujifilm and Leica make more expensive cameras in a similar vein. If he's into photo art, then a Photoshop plugin would be a nice gift. One that I know of is Fractalius for some interesting effects: http://www.redfieldplugins.com/filterFractalius.htm. Shutterbug is a pretty good photo magazine. Popular Photography is another. You don't mention a macro lens in his suite. These are used for closeups of flowers, bugs, dew -- stuff like that.
Serena,
On our website we have a page about 5 things to consider to make sure you choose the right photographer, this might be a good resource on things to think of when putting together your business, pricing, website, etc.
Hopes this helps!