What Kind of Flash and Lens should I buy?

[NikeonNev3000]

I'm Relatively New to the game, but surprisingly I've been getting a lot of work. I have a pageant coming and I need a flash.

I currently shoot with a Nikon D3000 18-55mm Lens, but the location of the pageant has very low lighting so I need to know what type of Flash I should buy to compensate for such a low lit place.

I am also looking into buying a news lens, any ideas? I just want my photos to come out crystal clear because this is a paid gig.

Thanks All the help is appreciated !

 

[NikeonNev3000]

bumpp

 

[prodigy2k7]

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Sorry, I shoot Canon. I cant give advice for Nikon equipment

 

[MarkF48]

Canon shooter here also and I don't know what Nikon has for flash gear, but I would recommend whatever you get has a flash head that can tilt and swivel for bouncing of the flash if called for. I've also used a flash bracket on occasion to get the flash positioned above the camera body to avoid harsh shadows behind subjects.
Getting good images with flash tends to be more than just having the flash throw light at your subject. Check out the right sidebar on "flash photography techniques" on the link below. It's an excellent tutorial on using flash to get the best results.
http://neilvn.com/tangents/

Kind of off topic, but these two quotes below have me curious. Do you only have the single D3000 and no camera as a backup for if and when the D3000 fails during a paid shoot?

I currently shoot with a Nikon D3000

....this is a paid gig.

 

[NikeonNev3000]

Canon shooter here also and I don't know what Nikon has for flash gear, but I would recommend whatever you get has a flash head that can tilt and swivel for bouncing of the flash if called for. I've also used a flash bracket on occasion to get the flash positioned above the camera body to avoid harsh shadows behind subjects.
Getting good images with flash tends to be more than just having the flash throw light at your subject. Check out the right sidebar on "flash photography techniques" on the link below. It's an excellent tutorial on using flash to get the best results.
http://neilvn.com/tangents/

Kind of off topic, but these two quotes below have me curious. Do you only have the single D3000 and no camera as a backup for if and when the D3000 fails during a paid shoot?

I currently shoot with a Nikon D3000

....this is a paid gig.

Yea i have a backup Canon just in case but i like shooting with the nikon

 

[Destin]

Need a budget man.

For a gig like this your ultimate combo would be a 70-200 2.8 vr, and an sb-900.

thats about $2,500 of gear though.

Around a grand and you can have an sb-600 flash and a sigma 70-200.

You really need fast glass for something like this. Flash doesn't generally work too good for stuff like this, unless you have multiple flashes and use them off camera.

On a tight budget, I'd go with a 50mm 1.8 (but it wont AF on your camera). Sb-600 flash unit is what you need at least, it costs $229.

If you need autofocus you'll have to get a 50mm 1.4 af-s ($400 ish) or a 35mm 1.8 af-s, but that isn't going to be a long enough lens unless you can get close to the stage