What are the best budget-friendly prime lenses for Sony APS-C cameras?

Man, you are gonna absolutely love the world of primes! I remember when I first switched over from that basic kit lens that came with my camera... honestly it was like someone finally wiped a layer of grease off my eyes or something. I was in the exact same spot as you, totally broke after buying my first body and staring at those numbers like they were some secret code. I ended up grabbing a used prime lens with a wide aperture because I wanted something that felt natural for portraits but could still fit a whole scene in. My first big test was my sisters graduation actually! I was so nervous i would mess it up but that prime lens made everything look professional without me even trying. The background just melted away! It was that low f-number like f/1.8 that did the heavy lifting. I used to think I needed a massive expensive zoom to get that pro look but nope, just a simple fixed lens did the trick. I actually took some of my favorite shots of my old dog with a cheap little one I found on a used gear site. It really taught me how to move my feet to frame the shot instead of just twisting a zoom ring. Honestly, having less options with the zoom actually made me a better photographer way faster than I expected. You definitely dont need to spend a fortune to get results that will blow your sisters mind for her graduation photos! Just look for something in that 30mm range, it is basically a magic number for what you want to do.