Which type of lens should I buy to take pictures in day light and indoors portraits?

Question

I have a Panasonic Lumix dmc-fz7 12x optical zoom 35mm equiv. and I want to take professional looking pictures of my toddler outdoors, and as well take indoor portraits of my family.
I accept sugestions for other types of accessories and modes that might make me achieve my goal.I already have photoshop cs2.
Thanks for answering!

Answer 1

One of the most important things is more of a technique.
Get down to the same level as your subject - don't be afraid to crawl around on the ground. Take a lot of pics from different angles.
Most of the lens adaptors for these types of digital cameras, referred to as "advanced point and shoot", are going to do one of two things:
1 - zoom in from a greater distance which can be great for landscape type photos.
2 - allow you to take macro shots - these are the types of photos used for the extreme close ups when you're only an inch or two away from the subject.

The lens that you have on the camera will allow you to take professional looking portraits, just practice a lot with your subject and familiarize yourself with all of the settings.

If your subject is cooperative and will sit still for the photos, use the portait setting on your camera. This setting will make your subject sharper and the background more indistinct.

If your little one isn't as cooperative, you may have a "sport" setting on your camera. This setting has a faster shutter speed to capture subjects that are in motion.

The most important I can say is to familiarize yourself with your camera and to read its manual so that you're aware of all of the functions of the various settings.

If you want to read up on more techniques, check out the "Idiots" line of books. They have a book called "The Complete Idiots Guide to Photography Like A Pro" these series of books are great in that they break down all techniques in "real" english not just the lingo that professional or semi-professional photographers would be familiar with.

Answer 2

My stock lens is pretty good it is a 28-200mm with macro settings. I think I have found most gain with filters. Using a spot filter for portraits are great effect. However there are countless filters available. On ebay you can find them pretty cheap.

I think the actual lens is the last item to look at for achieving a better picture unless you are doing macro or telephoto shots. I would look at filters as mentioned above and also processing your images. If you have the ability to take images in RAW format I would research this. Also if you have an SLR I would play with the settings like ISO,Exposures,etc.

Answer 3

With a 12x zoom you have all the focal lengths you will ever need for portraits and candids of your family. You can stay some distance from the toddler and still get tight, frame-filling shots.
With digital you can take hundreds of pictures to improve your technique.