what is the best lense to use for family/child photos....portrait/group....wedding etc.? What ISO is recommended for outdoor photos on a bright day?
There is no best lens for everyone and every situation, but a f/2.8 zoom that covers something like 18mm-50mm for APS-C format, or 28mm-80mm for 35mm format is pretty handy. ISO 100.
As with any thing...especially artistic endeavors like photography...there is no 'Best'. It depends what you, the artist, wants to do. Once you know that, you can choose the best tool for the job. Then you have to consider if you want the 'best' or the most practical or affordable. When shooting people, you usually want to avoid too wide of a lens because wide angles tend to accentuate things. A telephoto can compress features but you need more room to work. Are you looking for the very best quality? Top quality prime (non-zoom) lenses will probably give you the best quality and largest apertures...but they can cost several thousand dollars, each. A top quality zoom will also be expensive but more versatile. Either way, fast lenses (large maximum aperture) are the way to go when shooting people. For zoom lenses, this means F2.8 or better. For weddings, which often involve low lighting...fast lenses are very important. What camera do you have and what's your budget? Always use the lowest ISO setting possible. The only time I would turn up the ISO is when I need to get a faster shutter speed. (or possibly when I want to use a deeper DOF without sacrificing the shutter speed).
I have a Nikon d80? Haven't really thought budget yet....thought Id cross that bridge when I came to it.
Well, that's a start. For that camera, the 'normal' range is around 17mm to 50-70mm. I believe Nikon has a 17-55 F2.8 lens, which would probably be the best lens for your camera, in this range. Also consider the Tamron 17-50 F2.8 or the Sigma 18-50 F2.8.
For the D-80 there are 3 excellent lenses for the purposes you have stated. 17-55 2.8 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/300490-USA/Nikon_2147_17_55mm_f_2_8G_ED_IF_AF_S.html 28-70 2.8 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/169589-USA/Nikon_1961_Zoom_W_A_Telephoto_AF_S_Zoom.html 70-200VR 2.8 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/274780-USA/Nikon_2139_70_200mm_f_2_8D_VR_G_AFS.html While pricey this does cover the areas you requested.
bright sunny days: iso 100/200 but if you're shotting with a small aperture to get a long depth of field (like in street photography), then you'd need a higher iso even in daylight.
I purchased my camera from B&HPhoto and it came w/a lense..... [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens[/FONT] I realize that this is cheap in comparison to some mentioned above, but is it sufficient enough for now, to learn and gain a lil experience with?
Yes. The main difference is that a f/2.8 zoom lens has the potential to let in 1 to 2 more stops of light, which is definately handy at weddings.
