Recommended lens for portrait and/or food for beginner

[kellythesnapper]

Hi, I came to the Beginners' forum but after some browsing it sure doesn't look like u guys are beginners here 'coz ur photos are great and the camera bodies and lenses u guys have seem rather pro.

I'm really really a beginner, or a newb if u wish, or maybe even called a hobbyist. I own a nikon d80 and have the default lenses 18-135 and bought a 50mm f/1.8d. I'm looking to buy either a versatile lens for portrait and/or food, or basically just another lens for scenery.

Okay maybe I should just continue lurking ard photography forums instead of asking very open-ended questions?

 

[kellythesnapper]

still hope there'll be some recommendations tho

 

[Samanax]

I don't know much about Nikon lenses (I'm a Canon shooter) but do you already have some lighting? Like off-camera speedlites or strobes? You're going to need them for portraits and product photography.

Strobist: Lighting 101

Strobist: Lighting 102

 

[Actor]

A rule of thumb for portrait photography is to use a lens with a focal length twice the length of the diagonal of the CCD or film frame. This diagonal on a D80 is 28.4mm. Twice that is 56.8mm so your 50mm lens should be good for for portraits. Your zoom lens should do fine for scenery.