Hey Ingrid,

Congratulations on the job offers. Even if you turn them down, they are still flattering. Glass is the most important part of owning a camera. While I believe that Nikon and Canon glass cannot be topped for AF SLRs, there are ways to get around the need for their top-end glass. When I first started doing portrait work, I purchased entirely B-Grade lenses and then moved to the top shelf glass.

Specifically, I would start off with fast, 3rd party alternatives. Such as the Tamron 28-75di (less than $400) for a F2.8 constant aperture zoom. Sigma's 70-200 F2.8 is also a solid lens for the money. The sum total for the two lenses should not be much more than $1,000. As your income allows, purchasing the Canon and Nikon top lenses will be to your advantage as they do focus faster and are typically sharper.

James