"Ciao Valerie, a friend on FB put a link to your blog Q&A and I have devoured it. I read all the entries and they have been very helpful. so thank you. you work is also incredibly suggestive and love it!
I am a novice photographer and have taken a few introductory courses to learn the tricks of using manual mode. I always thought that not using the manual mode would mean I wasn't 'any good'. Therefore its a great comfort to know that you also use the other settings (AP) when shooting to capture the moment quicker. Photography is a hobby for me and I have a canon EOS 650. I have my go to lens - the nifty fifty 50mm 1.8 - and I use it a lot indoors. I also recently bought a EF-S 10-22 f3.5-4.5 for landscape and interior photography which I enjoyed a lot on my last trip.
I have a lifestyle blog and the prime lens seems to be pretty good. However I was wondering 2 things; 1) if perhaps you are ever coming to London and perhaps doing a workshop? and 2) should I be upgrading to a better prime lens for indoor photography (mainly food)? I have read on a lot of fashion/lifestyle blogs that they either have 50mm 1.4 or the 1.2 (which is out of my budget). Is the 1.4 a good jump or pointless?
Thanks and keep up the good work. so nice that you take the time to answer our questions!" Daniella, UK
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Hi Daniella. Thank you for reading my blog! I'm glad you are finding it useful. It's always nice to get some feedback when you're trying to help the community at large.
Regarding the workshop: Yes, I am planning to lead a weekend workshop in London next Spring. If you wish to get a full week of education, Paris is really close for you and I have a couple of spots left this Fall.
Regarding the lens: Many years ago, when I started to shoot food for clients, the 50mm f/1.8 was the only lens I had and it made me quite a bit of money! It's a great little lens. Before investing into any new lenses, I would first consider if you are going to stay in the DSLR system or embrace smaller mirrorless systems when you upgrade next.
Either way, the market is started to get flooded with used DSLRs and lenses as more and more amateurs and pros are switching to mirrorless systems. If you plan to get new glass for your EOS 650, I would look at gently used gear first. If you upgrade from the f/1.8, you may be able to jump to a f/1.2 and skip the f/1.4 if you find someone who is getting rid of his/her DSLR and lenses. Keep in mind that any new lens for a DSLR system will not hold its value as much now as it used to.
I hope this helps. Good luck and keep in touch!
Valerie
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If you found this post useful, please leave a comment below and share your experience with the community. If you have a question, feel free to send it to Valerie for an upcoming Q&A blog post. This blog cannot exist without your questions!