Getting into portrait photography.

[Dr. WooD]

Although 99% of my shots have been nature, or surfing. I'm seriously thinking of giving portrait's a shot.

Right now I only have a D80, and a 80-200 f/2.8 lens.

What wood be my best option for a good lens, and lighting set up?

This is somethingI'm pretty much....well totally clueless on, and if this subject has been beat to death in the past, I'm sorry.

[Saralonde]

There's a whole lot of info here to start you out:
http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/category/portrait-photography/

[Saralonde]

Some equipment suggestions:

1. Lighting-http://alienbees.com/ I don't own these but they come highly recommended. You can also go diy by using shop lights from your local home improvement store ($5-$10 each) and put daylight bulbs in them.
http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1640 for more info

2. Backgrounds-http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=133

3. Lens-try a 50mm http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1400

4. Poses-http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1836

[Dr. WooD]

Thats the info I wanted.

Thank You.

[Tiberius]

A back up for what Saralonde said. On a digital SLR with a 1.6 crop factor, a 50mm lens has an equivilent focal length of 80mm, which is a great size for portraits. And if you get a prime 50mm, it will be pretty fast as well, making it a very good lens. I use canon, and I have a 50mm f1.8 lens, which is excellent for portrait photography.

[Dr. WooD]

I think I've narrowed my lens selection down to the 50 f/1.8, and a 35 f/2.

A couple people said the 85 f/1.8 was the all time best, but having shot a lot with my 80-200, I don't think I want to go as big as the 85.

[23pixels]

Thank you for posting. This helps for us new photographers on a budget :]