Beginner needs advice please

[horse crazy]

Good morning,
Im looking into starting an animal photography business and need help in which type of camera should I purchase. I thinking something for high speed, outdoor and indoor conditions, and hardy. Primarily I will be photgraphing horses. What type of software should I be looking at. Yes I need help from the ground up. Any suggestions?

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

I would strongly suggest that you look at an SLR type camera. I assume you want a digital, so look at digital SLR cameras.

The entry level DSLR cameras would probably be good enough for your needs...but you may want to invest in some good quality lenses.

As for software, that will depends on your needs. Something like Adobe Lightroom is great for a smooth workflow when you have a lot of images. Adobe Photoshop is the primary tool of choice for image editing, although cheaper versions are available...Adobe Photoshop Elements, for example.

 

[Parkerman]

Just wondering.. What is your budget?

The new Canon XSI looks promising.

 

[Sandspur]

Shooting outdoors, around animals is usually a pretty messy business- dust, wind, rain and all manner of other natural forces can play havoc on photographic equipment. So my first recommendation is to get a camera that's as sturdy as possible - in other words, a "pro" camera.

I'm going to narrow the field by suggesting either Canon or Nikon. A D200 or D300 Nikon would be a good choice. And Canon's 40D or 5D.

And, if possible, try to minimize the necessity to change lenses, especially when it's dusty, by buying one lens that can cover just about everything you'll be shooting. Of course, you could spend a huge amount of money on one of those puppies, but consider something like a 18-200.

Initially, I'd go with Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 (recently introduced for PCs, available the end of March for Mac). It's a powerful editing platform - for only $89 or so. It also comes with Adobe Bridge, which isn't as sophisticated as Lightroom (good suggestion Big Mike!) but quite serviceable until you get your feet on the ground.

 

[JIP]

If you plan on shooting in any way profesionally DO NOT!!! buy he 18-200. That is everyones immediate suggestion "buy a convienient one so you don't have to change lenses alot" well that comment is all well and good when you are shoting for yourself if you are going to charge someone for your images do not make compromises in image quality just for convenience. I would say that if you are on a budget (and you have not suggestd what it is) skimp a little on the body and buy the best glass you can afford. Trust me YOU WILL buy a new body and soon good glass is good glass and handled correctly will outlast all of the bodies you purchase whereas the technology of a body will invariably change and very quickly so save your initial investmnt there if you have to. As far as a body goes I would suggest something like a D80 if you have to save money or a D300 if you have a little more to start out with but if you got the cash go sll out and buy a D3 but as I said make sure you can afford a decent lens (anything 2.8 will do the focal length depends on you). Also, if you don't like Nikon the Canon equivalent will surely do. Now I want to get into a little bit of a touchy topic and your short post made me ask this question but, if you are planning on starting a business shouldn't you have this kind of knowledge already?? I think yo might be putting the cart a little before the horse if you don't know what kind of camera you need to do this business.