Today draws the end to the October ‘Learn Photography’ course and we had a great group of girls. I must take my hat off to one wonderful student who lovingly entered all her notes into her journal, each with tabs for easy reference later.

Are you looking at buying a DSLR? The question I get asked the most is which one should I buy and what lenses do I need?

Well here are my HOT TIPS ON LENSES: It all depends on what you are photographing. Think about your favourite subject matter and when you plan to use the camera.

For those photographing PEOPLE – I find a zoom perfect. I like to work across a range of 24-120. Lots of entry level cameras come as a kit of 2 lenses that break around 55mm. I find this the most frustating point to need to change lenses. Most of the time you need a bit of both lenses and always find you have opted to head out with the wrong one on. I suggest buy one zoom lens to cover a more usable range. 28-135 is a great range and anything that covers around that will be super usable and no need to change lenses!

For those in love with LANDSCAPES – opt for a wide angle lens like an 18-35mm range. Head to a store where you can try it out, go outside and see if what you can see is what you had envisaged.

For those obsessed with CLOSE UPS and small details: check the tech specs for how physically close you can get to a subject to maintain focus. Look for a macro or sometimes called a micro function.

Then you have the fixed or variable aperture and quality factors to address – speak to a reputable retailer about that – but now you have a starting point.