Okay so I am totally lost and honestly getting kinda annoyed with how complicated this all is. I bought a Canon Rebel T7 a few months ago because I wanted to take better pictures than my phone can do but everything I take looks just... okay? I have that lens it came with the 18-55 one and it is fine I guess but I really want those professional looking shots with the super blurry backgrounds like you see in portraits. Everyone keeps telling me I need a prime lens but I dont even really get what that means besides the fact that it doesnt zoom which sounds like a downgrade to me? Like why would I pay more for something that does less?

But anyway my sisters graduation is coming up next month in Chicago and I really want to get some good shots of her in her cap and gown outside. My budget is pretty tight like maybe 200 or 250 bucks max. I keep seeing people talk about the nifty fifty which is the 50mm f/1.8 but then other people say on my camera which they call a crop sensor it makes everything look too zoomed in? So my logic was maybe I should get a smaller number like a 24mm or a 35mm but then I worry the background wont be as blurry. I spent like three hours on YouTube last night and just ended up more confused than when I started.

Is the 50mm going to be too much? Like will I have to stand across the street just to get her whole body in the frame? I also saw a 24mm pancake lens which looks cool because its small but someone said it doesnt get as blurry as the 50mm. I just want something easy that works for a beginner who has no idea what they are doing.

• budget is $250
• need it by mid-May
• mostly for people pictures and portraits

I really dont want to waste my money on the wrong thing and then be stuck with it at the graduation ceremony and not know how to use it...