If you had 1000$

[TJ K]

Changed it. All done in LR boy was it difficult w/out any real color adjustment tools.

 

[Dominantly]

I made you one, but that will work...:thumbup:

 

[TJ K]

Oh just saw that. Thanks i appreciate it :thumbup:

 

[KmH]

Well i know the d40 has significantly less MP than some higher end cameras, however that doesn't trouble me that much. But is it capable of images that are senior portait quality?

That depends almost entirely on the photographer, not the photographers gear.

The camera body is the least important part of the equation.

I spend the money on some good portrait glass and a strobist set up for doing on-location lighting if I was wanting to make senior portraits.

 

[barsfordays]

I was looking into alien bees? I've heard good thinks about them

 

[barsfordays]

Would you guys recommend a 50 mm 1.4 af-s, or a 80mm 1.8 af?

 

[jackieclayton]

I'd keep the body you have... the D40 will work JUST fine... maybe purchase a prime (50mm 1.8 or 85mm 1.8). I agree with Derrel and put most of that money towards lighting equipment... you can find some good beginner kits on B&H. Also, do you have a tripod? i'd purchase a used tripod on ebay or something to add to my collection, with portraits since you want your image to be sharp, never hurts to put it on a tripod if your subject is still. good luck!

 

[barsfordays]

I'm spending a good chunk of the money on lighting, and i've got a tripod. So i'm basically trying to get a good choice of lenses. I'm getting a 50mm and an 80mm i believe, but the ones im looking at, neither are af-s. I know i can manual focus, but i dont know how essential the af-s is.

 

[jackieclayton]

Would you guys recommend a 50 mm 1.4 af-s, or a 80mm 1.8 af?

personally i would get the 50mm 1.8 for $120 and spend the rest on lighting gear and maybe some paper for a backdrop. If you're just starting out (and putting it on a D40) you really wont pick up on the differences in the 1.4 and the 1.8, you could put that $300 to something else. You also have to take into account that you are using a crop sensor camera. A 50mm on a crop sensor camera is equivalent to about an 80mm (depending on the crop factor, I forget what the Crop factor of the D40 is but i think it would be around 1.6 or something). So using a 50mm on a DX camera would actually make it ideal for portrait work.

 

[Mike_E]

What Derrel said, in spades! Shooting seniors is all about the light.

And stay away from < 50mm focal lengths. The lens distortion is not helpful close up (which is what you have to be to fill your frame with a wide angle).

sorry i jumped the gun a bit. A 28-70mm would be good.