kja

Work smarter, not harder 95%+ of all my editing is done in Lightroom.

Justice - be aware that you may not be covered as some insurance companies will see you as more than a hobbyist. It is very worthwhile to check with your company and specifically ask about your exact circumstance and always get the answers in writing. I know two people - one here and one in the US who got done by their companies who considered themselves much as you do.

Crazy how those often pay the best

If you don't want to charge, don't. Donations are good. Or have them buy you lunch or something. Charge them for prints and products so you aren't out of pocket (seems totally unreasonable for them to NOT be doing this already), but not your time. if you are seriously thinking about this: then $30/session is a joke. You need to sit down, run the numbers, figure out how much time you spend on a shoot really (most people underestimate this by a huge margin & ignore bits and bobs of time here or there) and see what you come up with. And like others have said - it's not just the camera and lens and your time in front of the computer and behind the lens. Wear & tear, travel, correspondence, delivery, INSURANCE, dealing with taxes, yada yada yada - the list is freakin' endless LOL There are also different expectations from your clients as soon as a single dollar changes hands, no matter what words are spoken or your relationship. You need to be aware of this and be ready to deal with anything that comes your way. Good luck with whatever you choose to do!

If you can, get LR3 but if you can't LR2 is still fantastic. There are some things I actually like better in LR2. Although LR3 is superior in many many ways, LR2 works just fine and is still amazing. It didn't stop being a great program just because a new version came out

Wow, I just quickly skimmed some reviews of the 550D for the first time and it really looks like a sweet little rig!

I don't even know how to turn my liveview on LOL I've used it exactly once when I had to do an aerial shoot with my camera hanging out the door of an airplane. But, you need to go to a different store because I'm pretty danged sure the 550D DOES have live view. If the guy is telling you it doesn't, there is no way I'd be dropping cash with them.

OMG cutest!! I want to reach through my screen and scoop them both up for big cuddles!

new toys! Fun!!!

If you're going Canon, also check out second hand 40Ds - one helluva a camera that will let you use green box (auto) mode or start to learn more. You can often get a great deal on them and they are simply fantastic cameras.

I live on the edge and don't even own any filters

That's not true. You do get the Canon warranty when you order online from an authorised Canon dealer. It is only when you order from a non-authorised Canon dealer that you need to check on the warranty included :D

OT segue -> did you all see the Sony ad this week? It was shot with a Canon 5DII ROFLMAO

The 550D is a very nice camera. You can't go too wrong with any of the offerings from Canon or Nikon. Be aware of the limitations of some of the Nikon bodies - some require that you buy lenses with autofocus motors and these lenses are more expensive. Canon cameras do not have any models where that is an issue. All xxxD and xxD models can use any lens in the Canon range and a huge range of 3rd party lenses (Tokina, Sigma etc).

yay! how fun!! Congratulations

search for the file name. you can find the file name in PSs menu: File -> Open Recent -> file name Or to make life a whole lot easier, simply open the file from the Recent menu and SAVE AS a new file name where you want it

Yes, there are ways to do it with both Canon and Nikon without triggers. Depends on the models you have. And sometimes they may have control limitations - you'll need to RTFMs, I'm afraid. www.strobist.com is also a good resource

Best tip ever: get your light OFF your camera. Start with the cheapie ebay triggers even(I still have mine and they still work perfectly) - I think they are under Cactus triggers. You think you love your light now? Just wait!

I use mine for work people shooting stuff almost exclusively. I do pull it out for the odd macro shot on the back patio when I can't get a high enough shutter speed with my 100mm macro and sometimes I'll pull it out and put it on a stand in the house if I want to shoot the furries, but I have to be in the mood

Glad you love it! I love mine, too

Well, you can always sell your stuff if you decide to change. Good used gear should usually sell for 20-30% lower than new (glass). Low end bodies drop like rocks so you might not see much return on that, but just think about it in terms of how much fun you have with it instead of $$ - it will "pay" for itself

;) Glad you got your money back! Let us know if you need anything else - always happy to spend other people's money

Find a used 70-200 2.8 IS, imho. here's one from the other day at POTN

I think you'll be fine. Didn't you just buy it a week ago? And you have the receipt? What does their return policy say? Just go in armed. Know what their policy is. Know what you will say if they say they won't take it back. Be calm. Be clear that you told the salesperson which model you had and that he/she did not inform you of the manual focus nature of this lens. That is a big thing, imho. I don't expect my salespeople to babysit me, but if I ask for something general - which you did when you didn't specify the model, just said 50mm lens for your particular camera - then it is partly their responsibility to let me know special things about what they are offering - and manual focus only in this day and age of auto everything is definitely a "special thing". You're clearly not a total camera geek if you're using that model body and whoever helped you should have been more on the ball. Worst case, they won't take it back - ebay it or sell it. Use the money towards the one you want. Have you checked to see about other lenses on your wish list? If there is a big difference in buying those with the motors, it may be more economical to sell off your camera body and buy a different model. All depends on what you want, though.

As long as you are in the returns policy, it doesn't matter if you've used the lens - you said you had all the bits. If you are outside the returns period, it may be some more hassle, but I'd still try nice and calmly. As for the 35. It's a tough one. I adore my 30mm Sigma and the focal length works for me; I don't know anything about the Nikon 35. BUT I think the 50mm is just more comfortable for a lot of things - and you will have to be closer to fill the frame with the 35 than the 50 and sometimes that can disrupt some action shots.