[billybobvi]

Hi all!
Ok I haven’t even received my camera yet (K200D with kit lens) but already I’m getting offers for photo shoots. A local church as asked me to photograph the children during a special event. So my question is what lens would I need to get to take portraits shots of individual children and then take a group shot of all the children? Also is the popup flash adequate for this type of shoot or should I look at getting some other type of flash?
I have until April of 2009 to do this so I hope to get my camera in (Jan 2, 2009) and start practicing and getting what equipment I may need.

Thanks in advance for your advice and input.
Billy

[maxwell1295]

Pop up flash? Hmmmmm.....I didn't know my camera had one of those.

I would use a diffused or bounced shoe-mounted flash in that setting.

For lenses I'd go with a zoom that covers anything in the 16-75mm range. The faster the better although that won't matter as much if you're using flash. That gives you quite a few choices:

Pentax 16-50/2.8 or 17-70/4

Tamron 17-50/2.8 or 28-75/2.8

Sigma 24-60/2.8, 28-70/2.8, or 18-50/2.8

You could also use a few primes, maybe a 21mm or 24mm for the wider shot and something in the 70-100mm range for closer shots.

Another option is to use the kit lens for the wider shots and get something longer for the close-ups and portraits.

[drabina]

It depends if you are on a budget or not and what lens you have. If you are on a budget, I would stick with the kit lens which is very good and invest in an old thyristor flash that can bounce and swivel (should be about $20). Then master the flash technique. A soft difusser could help also.

Next step would be wireless trigger and second flash mounted off the camera as an additional light. I recently shot kid band on a stage and wished I had extra flash to lighten up the background and the end of the stage.

Then once you are comfortable with this setup you can go crazy buying lenses, better flashes, triggers, stands, backgrounds, etc :-)

Myself, I stick with two old manual flashes, cheap wireless triggers, two umbrellas and background with homemade stand. Total spend was less than $200 including flashes.

[dave sz]

If the church is paying you then buy whichever flash their payment would cover, maybe less. If they aren't paying you, shoot with what you have. Why spend money on a shoot which won't bring income to cover the expenses of the shoot?

[JCSullivan]

Plenty of great suggestions but I would take it one more step back.

1. Where will you be shooting? You will need to know the type of light that's available there. i.e. F'scent, etc.
2. Pop-up flash? nahhhh
3. Visit Strobist 101
4. Not to take away from this great forum but, there are some dedicated Flickr groups like pentaxstrobist started by our own.

Good luck

[billybobvi]

Thanks for all the replies and help. The individual shots will be inside the building in a hallway with florescent lighting. The group shot will be outside with the church as the background.

As far as Dave asking why spend the money on the shoot. As I have always strived to do my best with everything I do, I would like to do my best in this as it may lead to further shoots and further let’s say, Business. I do appreciate everyone’s input as I have an open mind as I’m trying to learn and understand photograph. I am also attempting to attend a Photograph Class at a local community college to further my knowledge.

Thanks again,
Billy

[dave sz]

I think there were many discussions about people doing favors for others, free shoots, discounts to help spread the word and hope for more business later on. I think the concensus was that if you start out with freebies, you're selling yourself short and people will expect freebies from you later on. I understand what you're saying, just throwing this out there...