what do I need to invest for portrait photography

[cameragirl]

I am going to do more (on location) portraits, beside my Nikon equipment (lenses 50 mm F/1.8, 18-70mm F/3.5 and a 70-300 F/4.5 and a SB 600) what would i need first?
Is it studio lights, reflectors, a better lens than what I have (I know it always can be better!)?
Christmas is coming up so it would be nice to start a list! What would I need FIRST?

[zona5101]

Maybe a bit more info???
Some people shoot portraits in natural light, they don't go for all the flash gear - in which case I'd say a large 5 in1 reflector would be a good choice.

I you want to do more studio portraits then the next question is how portable do you need it to be? If highly portable is desired then a "strobist" set up with flash units like your sb600 if power is more important than portability then monolights like Alien Bees, Photoflex or Calumet lighting...

[Dirt_Bike_Ryda]

Your going to want at least one f/2.8 zoom lens ( personaly i'd suggest a 24-70mm & a 70-200mm )

Knowledge is another big thing you may/may not need to further invest in, you need to be able to not want to shoot in Auto or Semi-Auto modes, the Manual and Semi-Manual modes is where you will want to live Aperture prioity mainly

[cameragirl]

Originally Posted by Dirt_Bike_Ryda

Your going to want at least one f/2.8 zoom lens ( personaly i'd suggest a 24-70mm & a 70-200mm )

Doing some research I came up with these two:
85 mm F/1.4 or
105 mm F/2.8 (for great macro shots as well!)
They both are in the same price range.
Which one would you prefer if you have to choose from these two? (I love the 24-70 mm F/2.8 as well! Who doesn't )

[scootermcq]

Originally Posted by cameragirl

Doing some research I came up with these two:
85 mm F/1.4 or
105 mm F/2.8 (for great macro shots as well!)
They both are in the same price range.
Which one would you prefer if you have to choose from these two? (I love the 24-70 mm F/2.8 as well! Who doesn't )

Unless you have a full frame body, the 85 is about 127mm lens which may be a little long... I certainly would not suggest the 105mm on a crop sensor for portrait work.

[Dirt_Bike_Ryda]

Originally Posted by scootermcq

Unless you have a full frame body, the 85 is about 127mm lens which may be a little long... I certainly would not suggest the 105mm on a crop sensor for portrait work.

Nor would i. hence the 24-70 zoom, and for starters a zoom would be better while you find you feet and get more comfortable, cause zooming with your feet takes time, and if you don't know what you want, or how to get what you want, you could end up wasting time and missing shots (weddings etc.)

[cameragirl]

I read this about the Nikon 105 mm AF DC F/2.8:
For exceptional portrait photography, try the AF DC-Nikkor lenses.They offer Nikon’s exclusive Defocus-image Control which allows you to adjust the amount of foreground or background blur with a rotating ring.
Somewhere else I came upon "wedding portrait lenses" which also recommends this lens as a great portrait focal length -and takes stunning macro shots such as wedding rigs, cakes etc.-.

If everyone says it is not a good portrait lens, okay, but it confuses me. BTW I also love to take macro shots.

[scootermcq]

It is a great lens.... there is no debating that. The problem is it is really designed for the FX bodies (full frame). On a crop sensor like a D40-D300, it will act like a 157mm lens. The distance you would need to stand back to get a full body shot in would be bigger than most studios afford. Take your 70-300 lens, (assuming it is DX), dial it out to 150mm and see how much of a person you can fit in at a given distance. If you find you can't fit people in (which I'm willing to bet) then you will not be happy with that lens. Also remember with a fixed focal length (prime lens) you will need to move your body forwards and back to "zoom".

Really, your 50mm will act like a 75mm lens, which is a good length for portraits. Start with that..... Remember the 105 you will require twice the distance to fit the same image in. The benefit of the longer lens will be the compression of the background, which can be very desirable for portraits, but also requires greater space to work in.

[RLucas]

The reason they are not recommending them is because at that focal length on a crop body you have to stand back much further to frame your shot. Space may be an issue, especially if you are indoors. They are great lenses, but you need to be aware of what environment you will be shooting in mostly. That is why the 24-70 zoom is being recommended. It is a little more versatile.
I have the 35mm f/2, 50mm f/1.8, and the 85mm f/1.8. These are all AF-D lenses, which will not autofocus on certain bodies.
This works for me, because I generally work outside, and have personal space issues. The farther away from my subject, the more comfortable I am. Plus I like primes more than zooms. They force me to think more about my shots.

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by cameragirl

I read this about the Nikon 105 mm AF DC F/2.8:
For exceptional portrait photography, try the AF DC-Nikor lenses.They offer Nikon’s exclusive Defocus-image Control which allows you to adjust the amount of foreground or background blur with a rotating ring.
Somewhere else I came upon "wedding portrait lenses" which also recommends this lens as a great portrait focal length -and takes stunning macro shots such as wedding rigs, cakes etc.-.

If everyone says it is not a good portrait lens, okay, but it confuses me. BTW I also love to take macro shots.

I think your are mixing up comments on 2 different lenes...The 105DC will not do macro. It is portrait only. There is a 105macro but it does not have defocus control.