I’m curious what everyone uses for taking such amazing photos. I want to get better at it. Also curious about lighting and backdrops etc. my budget is $500. Little more would be ok. Thanks in advance.
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I use a Pentax K1 Mark II usually with Sigma lenses but you won’t get anywhere near that with $500.
Do some research, there are good cameras out there for affordable prices.
Keep in mind, Cameras don’t take great photos, People Do! 
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I see two reasonable paths for you to improve your photography results.
Option one, Check your cell phone to see if the camera on your phone has a portrait mode. If it does, it will create photos that have the blurry background often seen in the fancy photos you like. Then you can spend your whole budget on lights.
Option two would be to buy a used Canon EOS Rebel T5i camera with a kit lens (18-55mm) for around $230 on EBay, then spends the rest of your budget on lights.
Then watch a bunch of videos on YouTube about portrait lighting.
Like any hobby, the only way to get good, is to put in the hours of work. Don’t expect brilliant results in the first weeks. Over time, considering adding more lights. Stick with the lights that you can control the color temperature. I’ve found backgrounds to be a lot of work with mixed results. I use 2 to 6 lights when shooting my dolls. Find a photo of a doll that you admire and try to recreate the pose and lighting in the photo. Then do it over and over.
After all the videos I’ve watched on studio photography, the number one theme that dominates is, “good lighting is critical”. Without good lighting, even the best gear and years of photography experience will fail. Focus on good lighting, and good gear second.
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For me i found my pics got instantly better when I started to learn lighting. An old dslr with a decent lens can take some stunning pics with the right lighting.
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