How to get Professional Photos with a Kit Lens: "Nikon D5500" 5 Min Portrait 

For those of you who say Jared doesn't love photography anymore...just look at how ecstatic he gets when he finds a shot he likes, or a location to shoot from. You can clearly tell this is where he feels at home!

You make photography exciting, thank you. I have been taking photos since I was about ten years of age. A few years ago, I went into total burn out mode. After 25 years, I needed to step away for a while. Now, I am at a point where I am getting the urge to get back into it. And your vids are a great inspiration.

Thank you for clearing up this misconception. It's good to know that I can buy a DSLR with a kit lens and still get professional results until I can afford some other glass.

I've just finished watching every minute of this video Jared. You and Stephen have done a fantastic job, man that's a lot of film and editing work but one of the most enjoyable videos I have watched. Well done guys.

There are times that he looks like the "Bob Ross of photography".

As a complete newbie, it's really great to hear your thought process on settings as you're shooting. It seems overwhelming now but I imagine with practice, you can get better at this.

I've been waiting for a 5 min portrait! I haven't been into the latest videos because it's gotten a little away from photography in my opinion and that's all I'm really interested in so glad to see this video for sure

5ive long as minutes - but worth the watch! The Nikon d5500 is the first DSLR i've purchased and I'm in love with it! I only shoot manual, and raw with the same kit lens as seen on this video and I can assure you that once you understand how to use it, you'll be satisfied with it. I already had some photo shooting with it and been the client was amazed! And this video opens up more opportunities, thx for it !

Brilliant video, very informative, do more of these Jared they're great.

Man, so much hate on this video. Keep doing what you're doing man. You've been my go-to camera teacher for over 5 years, and its still as refreshingly clear as the beginning. I know I can always come back to learn something new.

Why is this called "5 Min Portrait"?

This is probably THE BEST "5 minute" portrait video I've seen. It's just great, it's very rich in information the way you manifest everything that's going on technically and creatively.

Your 5 min portraits are probably my Favorite videos you do. It was nice to see what can be done with a basic dslr and kit lens.

Jared, this has been one of the best photo ed videos I have ever seen. Well done! I learn by watching people doing. Your 'explain as you do' and 'talk what you think' method works well. Its also great to see a 'proper' pizza being made.

This deserves so many more views for the quality of this video

This was amazing. I'm thinking of buying a D5500 and this was super useful video - I watched the whole thing! I definitely want this camera even more now. I loved the teaching I loved how passionate you are about what you are doing, I loved the shots you were getting. Fantastic stuff.

I watched over 150 your videos over last 7 days. And I got out of auto mode. I found it is not that hard because you taught so well. Now I have a lot more control of what I want to shoot. You really taught me a lot. Thank you so so much. You make photography a really interesting thing to do. The excellent jobs you did with Steven and Tod are really amazing. Really wish you can pass the one million subs asap. You are such a good RU-vidr and great, candid person. I am a subscriber from Taiwan. Thank you so much again!!!

Jaren Polin rocks. Such wonderful information for beginners for free, yet some pros or jealous wannabes try to put him down. Keep up the good work Jared. This channel is gold for beginners.

Watched your video last night and saw how much fun you had with the Nikon D5500 and it was like the icing on the cake for me to make my decision. I ordered the Nikon D5500 today. It will be in my hands in 2 days, which is my birthday. I'm so excited!!! Thank you for your videos. They are so helpful and fun. Keep up the great work.

i blacked out for a good 60 seconds when i hear jared shot JPEGs

wait 5 minute portrait in an hour?! what...

This guy looks like he is one of the guys of LMFAO.

Long time knower (is that even a word?) of this channel. I used this channel before I purchased my D7000 way back when. Anyway Jared I thought this real world review was great. I have yet to see any channel do these types of styled reviews. It's very refreshing to see something knew and I loved how you continuously refreshed the viewers knowledge about the changing of ISO and shutter speeds in lighter and darker areas depending on where you subject was. I normally watch traditional point and shoot scenario style tutorials but this style helped me understand proper setting adjustments better. This real world tutorial & review was really what beginning and on site shooters would experience - great work man!

Hey Jared, this is extremely useful to me as I have just gotten my first entry level DSLR and is trying to squeeze good pictures out of it. Thank you very much for that. Keep videos like this coming.

did a bit of photography in college years ago and getting a starter dslr tomorrow....these videos are great dude thanks. very enthusiastic and fun

IT IS NOT TRUE that you can only shoot JPEG using the WiFi control. YOU CAN SHOOT RAW with the wifi controls. I use this option all the time. I bought this camera for this function. It is by far the most overlooked feature of Nikon's "midrange" DSLR cameras. I can use my 10" tablet as a live view screen to control my camera. When I'm shooting night shots or landscapes the option to control my camera while it is on a tripod by using my phone or tablet is just incredible. If your camera is set to shoot RAW you can still have the camera shoot RAW + JPEG and it sends a little 2mb Jpeg to your phone. You talk about chimping and how it's good to look and see your exposures. It's amazing to be able to see a full-size jpg on a tablet while you are shooting and really see what you're getting done. That is such an underappreciated feature of Nikon cameras and it's really important that people know that you can shoot RAW that way because that makes it a real option for use as a professional photographer.

I am a beginner and I bought a 5300 with that lens. Really happy with it as a beginner kit. Next investment will be a wider shorter focal length for star photography, and an adaptor to connect it to my mirror telescope. After that external flash. I mostly don't use flash, but hey. It's better to have one than to miss one.

awesome video. just a thought...if you figure out a way to mount your phone to the monopod you can use both hands more readily on the pole to help with stability

Don't know how I found this channel. I think it was something to do with the 7D mk2. Watched few videos and I was intrigued as well as amused. So I subscribed. But this kind of thing that this video is. Gold. Mixing different aspects of (and surrounding) photography, and yet being entertaining as hell while doing it. I think I'll like it here.

Too much hair near that pizza

The production value of this 5min portrait video was great compared to the other ones! the other ones are great too, but this one just took it further!!

I'm always amazed when I happen upon things which say "How to get professional photos with a kit lens"... I tend to hear from people alot that wow I bet that camera takes nice pictures but actually its the person behind the camera that does the work. Too many times people are going for the quick gimmick when they need to explore more than shooting in program or aperture mode... manual mode is where most of your creative ideas can flow--learn about f-stops and aperture and shutter speeds. Back in the film days one could really be considered a photographer because you couldn't see your images until they were processed and developed and you had to depend on your knowledge and experience of the principles of photography in order to get good pictures--remember if you can shoot, you should be able to shoot with anything.

I've waited for my midterms to end to watch the video since it was up and tbh it's worth it. 💖

Love your work man. I learn something new in this video. Im a noob in photography world got my camera last month im looking for a legendary teacher and found one. That's is you man. Watching your videos it helps me a lot. More power.

I love watching these. Instead of just placing photos on the screen, you tell the story behind them. It helps tell the story. My only change would be to put the shot settings at the bottom. However, the graphics you have down there are pretty sweet.

many years ago there was a photographer/mountain climber who had to travel light this was before the digital era .. mid 90's and when he climbed he would use a nikon 6006 camera with kit lens most of the images in his book was shot with that equiptment .. his name was galen rowel the motto is if you understand your equiptment you can get great pictures with any camera/lens combo no matter the brand

I'm from Brazil and I love your videos!! I learn A LOT with them! You're so didactic! Congrats!

I bought this camera a few weeks ago. Love this one! Espacially love the touchscreen to change all the settings.

Thanks for this video. I was trying to figure out which camera to step up to, and leaning towards the D5300, when I saw this video. Got mine today and yes it is a great little camera. Why others have not gotten touch screens is a good question. I should have grabbed the 18-140 but the 18-55 is good for learning.

18:57 By default, a d5500 came with "touch fn" switched on. And you can assign what it does just like you would with the fn physical button. Again, by default, touch fn is set to toggle the grid on/off in the viewfinder. You can change what it does. Personnally, I set it to control my focus point If you don't exactly know how to use it, just look it up in the camera's menu. Once you've found it, tap the "?" icon on the touchscreen. Nikon cameras has very detailed instruction on how to use their functions

I don't think you should be calling these 5 min portraits anymore. It's misleading, especially when people don't have time to sit through an hour. I know it has a time stamp before clicking, but it would still be nice to not have to worry about what I'm getting into.

This video shows how creative and professional you are as a photographer. Very impressive, informative and entertaining. Congratulation Jared, this is the content I´m following you for.

That was really good. Did anyone notice that Jared missed Joe's amazing grin every time he said "chimping"? He could have got that genuine grin easyby just saying "chimping" at any time. Best shots of the whole set around the 60 minute mark, shooting back towards the entrance. Just shows that spending time with your subject, talking, moving around, eventually gets you to those winning shots. Always somuch to learn from these videos.

Jared the quality of your video both sound & vision are excellent. Far above many videos on RU-vid. Excellent photography advice.

Keeping the "5 Min Portrait" down below ~25min would, in my opinion, be better. STILL it's great the way your are doing it right now. Keep it up!

i love the shots with just his hands and the dough!

This is a really solid video... i like how you engage the viewers it makes it more entertaining while still learning

Love this guy, watching this brings back good memories 😍❤️

Exposure Triangle...check Composition...check Subject interaction...check Charles Barkley reference...yup One of your better videos dude! Lots of beginners could learn a lot from this video. Well done!

FYI you can easily add a GPS, when needed. Very reasonable prices. Don't forget, with the 18-140, which is the best kit option- very pro(beats the 2-lens option in my opinion). The lens sells for about $496 by itself on Amazon(exactly the same lens as in the kit). Up to a 210mm at a 35mm base. The 18-140 has a 67mm attachment ring but I found way more options for filters/ variable density etc than I found with the 52mm(used by the other 2 lenses). The 18-140mm lens is outstanding quality wise. Excellent vid!

Great video for a new beginner like me. I bought D5500 last month, I shoot everything and learning theory of cam.

He has a cool Chinese lucky cat statue in the pizza store!!! Nice long review, I'm not a Nikon guy and this one camera also has the cold colours, I prefer the warmer colours on the Canon cameras! Good idea for this review!

I have the D5500. It really is a great camera capable of getting fantastic images. PERFECT for travelling, trips etc as it's so small and light.

I have recently bought this camera and and starting my journey out of Auto. I'm starting with using one of the priority modes so I am learning adjusting one and seeing what is happening with the others. I really enjoyed this video and found it very informative. Thanks for putting the time info people like me. you clearly enjoy what you do. Oh and the book reveal was awesome, loved Joe's reaction and the book looks great.

Only a half four into the video, but this is already one of my favorite 5 minute portraits.

I could really go for some pizza now.

I love this. It gives you some insight on what to expect doing a photoshoot. Great work man! Thank you

Professional Photos with a Kit lens....Hmmm. Interesting topic. Well anyway, kit lenses can get the job done. I love my kit lens.

Man I Love these 5 min portraits!! I suck at doing the math in my head quickly enough to change settings. My thing when shooting in manual is counting the clicks. I know if my exposure is correct and i need to change anything for artistic measures i just count the clicks.

I absolutely love this video, I love the photos, the angles. the atmosphere just felt right. Good job Jared.

Help me found more videos like this one . Really love to watch it over and over

This was WELL NEEDED 🙌🏽🔥 I just got mine and for it to be kind of a old cam it’s still GOOD , thanks for demonstrating

Photo junkies must love this... I know nothing of photography... But looking to buy a cheap / expensive cam... $700+ is not cheap but I see it is in the world of photography.. Thanks for the vid...

Thanks Jared! One of so many great videos! I have learned alot from your site and now I teach a photographyclass at my school and I love it. One of my students said when we evaluated the first session that it was great to have a teacher who was passionated about what he did and we had a really great session. True meaning of teaching 😊.

Jared I wouldn't let you in without a hair net.

I like that you're also showing how to shoot with beginner gear but I'm looking forward to a 5 min portrait video like that with your full gear (like the Tattoo one, i loved that one!)

Awesome to see an real photography video!

Hey there. The glare issue outside: A Polarizer wouldn't have helped alot, because it only helps around Brewster angle and with you standing next to 0° of angle of incidence to all light it would pretty much show only minor effect. With glass, it's around 65° angle of incidence (which is, similar to puddles, the reason why you only diminish reflections in puddles when kneeling down a bit and not taking photos just right from above).

this is very useful and helpful video for beginners with less gears like me, thank you and keeping up the good works. I like when u keep talking so I can understand how things work.

Wouldnt it be easier to setup your aperture at 5.6, and set your shutter and ISO at a specific setting to get the exposure you want.. so you set it and forget it? No more riding the shutter.. changing ISO..

I really enjoyed this video, there is a great number of tips and hints for shooting in general, thanks! I'm very new, but I've found myself riding the shutter speed as you put it, but I wasn't sure if that was correct. Generally when I'm walking around, I set my ISO and aperture and adjust my shutter speeds searching for proper exposure.

I'm barely getting into taking photos and jus bought this Camera so I searched the camera and found this video appreciate the tips jus wat I was looking for

Great work! Keep making these type of videos. Real world,hands on and teaching as you go is awesome. Wifi for pro cameras is needed. How is the lag with live view? Sony seems to win using live view from what I have seen. This had some great moments on all aspects of a shoot. Thanks for this kind of video. Thank you for all of your free content that is fun.

This video is wonderful! I love those kind of environmental portrait shoots. I learnt a lot from this.

One of the best tutorial ever

When you're shooting with the wifi, the files that get transferred to your phone are JPEG, but the files recorded to the card are raw, (if you had that setting selected previously)

Great tutorial video. I took away the thought process you go through when composing a shot and the calculations for correct exposure for staic or motion shots. Thanks alot.

Jared, thank you so much for your dedication to the art and profession of photography and your willingness to share your knowledge and your hard work doing so. Kudos.

Really great video Jared, awesome to see what this kit setup can do! Like the fact that you show a photo shoot in real time as well, very helpful.

I shoot with a 70d and the touch to shoot thing was bugging me until I realized that when on a tripod with very low shutter speed, barely touching the screen won't cause vibration, so it can speed up the process by focusing and shooting right away for low light situations, so it really does have some uses.

This was great to hear your mental process from the get go with composing and adjusting. Great insight as a beginner. Thanks!

Great video for shooting small business environments. Lots to learn as I'm starting to shoot coffee houses around town.

I wanna see you with a top hat and sun glasses = Slash

I think this is the best video I’ve ever seen on youtube. Gahhhh he takes such good pics!

Lovely video. Very informative. I landed here while looking for reviews of D5500. Going to get it soon. Thanks Jared! And Joe is soooo photogenic! I loved his portrait shots the most.

It's like having a great camera, it sorta does all the work for you - bad thing to say to a professional photographer lol.

THANK YOU FRO FOR YOUR INFORMATIVE VIDEOS I started when i was 13 as well now I'm 50 but my cameras were old with films this is a digital world to me and it takes getting used to. I now have a Nikon D3300 with three different lenses,...35mm 1.8 and 18-55mm but I'm trying to set up my recent lens Nikon DX AF-S NIKKOR 55-300 mm 1:4.5-5.6 G ED PLEASE HELP!

By far the best photography video I've ever seen. Watching you work. Seeing how you think, compose, and make these wonderful images; all the while conveying those aspects of the shoot to us (your viewers, and hell even Joe learned a lot)...Love it Jared. Would love to see more of these vids in the future... Keep up the great work.

Love these "5 min portraits". Good job.

I am definitely getting the D5500 this Christmas!

With variable aperture lenses, shooting in various light situations like in this video, i usually use Auto ISO with minimum defined shutter speed to help keep things a little more simple and uniform. I dont know whether that a good thing but it usually helps

Hi Jared thank you for another edutainment video, I really love the quality improvements you are making to your content. It must take you and the team hours to put together. I would be interested in seeing the editing you did and a comparison of the out of camera jpg and the raw. Keep up the good work and thank you. Damien

I loved the way you edited the video. Details like showing the pictures at the same time that you are tanking them, or the go pro at the top of the camera to show the "photographer view". Like and subscribe. Great video men

I have this camera with the same kit lens. I really liked this video. Feeling inspired.

I enjoy all of your content and I think that you do a great job of explaining what you are doing while you are doing it. One critique for you guys is that there is some dirt or something on your cameraman's lens. I am only commenting on this because you are a photo/video oriented channel.

I like seeing Jared doing a photo shoot. Not sure he gets to do those as often as he used to, he seemed to enjoy it.

Honestly, that's a very good video. Shows you the very basics of the exposure triangle, but in a very pragmatic way. Plus, Nikon has very good begginners products, I purchased the D5200 because apart from being perfect for my tiny hands (no dirty joke intended) it has all the basic functions and manual control you need, plus the rotative screen and Full HD 60fps. OK now where's my pizza?

You should totally do more of these! Easily my favorite video on this channel. There is doing and learning here. I love it.

I really dig your videos man. I've been learning a lot from them too. Great work - cheers from the UK

Check out the Joby Action Jib kit for GoPro,.. Amazing I have it, but I use my fluid head monopod for it. I have the Joby iPhone attachment to clip onto handles to preview the footage, have used it for Jib shots on video and also top shots like you were doing with the monopod. The pullies and wheel make it easy to readjust the camera