What next?

[yeahhtrue]

Here's another question for you guys. Been shooting for about a year, I'm pretty comfortable with all the basic concepts, and I want to start getting a little more advanced. I'm going to get a new lens (or two, depending what I decide on) by Christmas, but besides that, what should my next step be? I think I'd like to play around with lighting, portraits, etc., but don't know if I'm at that point yet. Should a flash be my next purchase? Are flashes essential? Would I be better off buying some type of actual lighting if I want to experiment with that, or is that too advanced for someone of my skill to be playing with? Or should I perhaps buy a copy of either Aperture or Lightroom and work on my post processing skills? I've just been doing basic stuff using Camera Raw in Photoshop and by no means am I great at it. I have a budget of only $500 or so, so how would you guys spend that if you were in my shoes?

 

[tirediron]

I would say that a speedligt is an excellent purchase and given how easy TTL makes flash exposure these days, good flash shots aren't above anyone's level. Studio lighting is useful, but I would say that at this stage, you'll get a lot more use out of something which is easily portable and which you're more likely to carry with you.

 

[Big Mike]

It really depends on what you like to shoot and what you want to do.

If you do a lot of 'family' type shooting, then a TTL flash would be great. If you want to get into more 'formal' portraits, then maybe a cheaper flash with an off-camera kit would be better.

Or if you shoot landscapes or macro, maybe a good tripod.

Maybe a telephoto lens, maybe a 'faster' lens, maybe a Macro lens.

 

[Overread20]

It really depends on what you like to shoot and what you want to do.

+1
Purchasing new things for any craft works best when they let you overcome limitations in your current setup. There is a mass of small and large, cheap and expensive things you can add to a setup and with no criteria you'll have no way to choose between them.

 

[yeahhtrue]

Hmm. Up to this point, most of my shots have either been of family or wildlife. I'm also interested in live band photography though, which is what really made me want to upgrade my lens to something faster. A new lens coupled with a flash should make a significant difference in the quality of my images I would think, so that sounds like a good bet.

Is anybody familiar with Nissin flashes? This one is about $88 cheaper than the Canon 430EX II, but maybe it's just worth getting the Canon brand?

Amazon.com: Nissin Di622 Speedlight for Canon Digital SLR Cameras, Guide number 145: Electronics

Thanks for the help guys.