Ah the terrible, terrible unkindness of crows!

I am working on photography to help me build an understanding for film, which is my ambition. I love to do portraits, but I am terribly shy and nearly pass out when I ask people for their picture. (I would appreciate any help in overcoming that fear.) I love using my dad's old film Minolta, but my current passion is my Nikon D50. I would marry it, if I could.