What accessories do I need to take professional-quality photos?

[Photography Group]

I have a Nikon D40 with the standard 18-55 mm lense that came with it. What upgrades do I need (lense, flash diffuser, etc.) to take a photo like the one posted below? (This photo was taken a year ago when Noah first arrived by a professional. She didn't have a super fancy camera, but had lots of fancy accessories)

[Ryan]

I agree with shootportraits; it's not necessarily about the equipment or accessories. It's more about lighting and technique. I don't use any accessories other than lenses.

I prefer using natural light in my photography, even though I have an expensive flash. If you wanted to light a shot like this, I'd set up near a window that gets a lot of indirect afternoon sun. You don't want your subject to be directly IN the sunlight; you want to catch the ambient light near the sunshine.

As for the depth of field (how the nose and face of your pup are in focus, then there's a soft blur moving backwards), you'd need a lens that probably has a better aperture than your kit lens.

If you're getting serious about photography, I'd recommend investing in a good 50mm lens for your Nikon. It's great for portraits of people, pets and just a good general purpose lens.

With your kits lens, you can still try to accomplish something similar to this. With a good 50mm lens, you're going to get a more crisp image with a better depth of field. I'm going to be doing a quick series on how to shoot in manual mode, which might help out.

[Kyoko]

Do you think you can take pictures like this even the camera is not a DSLR cameras, such as Cannon Powershot G11 , if you practice and learn the camera? This is what I have and my pictures always seem to be blurrly without clear/ sharp details. I set it for higher shutter speed since Charlie is always moving around, but it does not seem to help... :-(

[Linda and "Toby"]

Hi Kyoko! Yes, you can definitely get some stunning photos with your Canon Powershot G11. It's a nice camera! :) When you take action shots, what setting do you have your ISO on? ISO 100 for example is great for taking portrait shots where your subject is very still. If you're trying to get a shot of Charlie running around you may want to bump it up to a higher setting, say...ISO 1000 or higher. Keep in mind that digital noise (grainy appearance) is sometimes a problem at the higher ISO settings. (When you want to make a photo look retro/BW, this can be a good thing.) You can correct this with Noise Ninja, by Picturecode: http://www.picturecode.com/index.htm I'll start a thread called "Having a problem with Digital Noise?" and post a photo example.

Another trick of the trade is to use a flash when taking photos of moving objects (even in the daylight). It will help you freeze the motion.

I hope this helps! :)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

What a fantastic picture! It is so simple yet so stunning.