Good idea, I’ll check the local community college!
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I enrolled in a local 10 weeks beginners course when I first started. Best thing I did!! It taught me the basics which is what I still use 95% of the time. I shoot mainly landscapes and sports.
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when i was at my 2nd try at my BFA i did an analog photo course at RISD around 2004 - tottally changed my perspective on photography.
in additon to using the camera for assorted design projects, as well as documentation, i have also done a lot of darkroom photo & alternative process, specifically photograms, which coincidentally i have a show up right now featuring about 30 of them here at RIT:
https://www.rit.edu/universitygallery/exhibitions/current-exhibitions
for just documenting stuff i use digital, but for me the real fun is analog, which i still noodle around with, especially with analog ‘toy’ cameras like a Holga.
edit: to add to the above, if you are looking to really understand photography taking a class at a community college, continuing education at a college or university, or your local community darkroom/photo club is a very, very good idea.
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Very cool!
Okay @John_E you talked me into it…
As many of you know from seeing my cover videos, I have a hobby of photography, videography, and editing. I’ve been doing a lot more photography since my surgery, and have taken up shooting artistic and elaborate miniature scenes. I’ve posted a few of them on Facebook, and that’s why John thought I should post some of them here:
And just to show that I shoot other than miniature scenes…
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Pretty cool @PamPurrs! The miniature scenes are brilliant!
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Thank you 
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OMG @PamPurrs Pam,…. These are so damn good!! Such a talent…. Damn……
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Oh fabulous @PamPurrs I love the red wine / hazmat team. 
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So glad you posted these.
They are so clever and damn good.
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I love Holgas. Alternative processes are awesome - I did a series of prints from solarized negatives. I tend to tell people that it’s not the camera that takes great pictures - it’s the photographer.
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What’s a good camera to start with that you can grow in to?
I have a buddy who is a professional photographer. As well as his normal camera he uses a grip that attaches to his Iphone. He can change the ISO settings etc with the grip controls. He said very often at weddings he gets some great shots just using that. So you can learn on your phone without ponying up for a separate camera to start.
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Agreeing with what @Barney said, any camera that allows you to control the settings that affect the exposure triangle is a good start. That, in my mind, is one of the first things that would be helpful to understand.
Amen. “Those are great pictures - you must have a great camera” is analogous to “What a great groove - that must be an expensive bass”… 
As far as this topic goes, I’ve dabbled in photography since before dSLRs had a “d” and were fully manual. I have an Associates degree in photo-journalism (for whatever that’s worth) and way more invested in photo gear than in bass gear. 
I really am envious of people growing up with cameras on their phones that can take almost effortless pictures that used to require really advanced skill…
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I have Nikon D5300 DSLR, and it’s a great camera, but if I were to do it again, I would get a Canon. The cost for Nikon lenses is high, and Canon lenses are just as good and less money. My sister takes great pictures with her Canon EOS. I would definitely get a DSLR
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Again, learn the principles of photography FIRST. That knowledge is the point of the axiom “It’s the fiddler, not the fiddle.”
Personally, I’ve recently been using my iPhone 14 Pro Max camera for professional shots more often than my DSLRs.
The Pro Max not only has three individual focal length lenses, but each lens can be digitally tweaked to achieve any number of intermediary focal length lens perspectives. The degree of versatility it presents is nuts, but extremely useful.
So, doing photography well is similar to playing bass well: learn the fundamentals and practice them. A particular model/brand of bass or camera doesn’t really matter until you know what you’re doing.
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I would respectfully disagree with this just a bit - if I were to start today, I would get mirrorless. That’s where the industry is moving. I feel the dSLR lifespan is limited. FWIW, YMMV, etc…
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My photography professor told us something in the first few minutes of our very first day class session that has served me for decades: “I’m going to teach you how to see light.”
That is the essence of photography.
Of course, there were later in-depth lessons about in-camera composition, both black and white film processing, printing b&w and color photographs, retouching and mounting prints, matting final prints, presenting at competitions, et al.
But “seeing light” was the most valuable lesson of all.
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And just to add an underline something that was mentioned above, the lenses are the real investment. You’ll upgrade bodies over time - the lenses you’ll tend to hold on to. And it’s difficult (and expensive) to decide that you want to switch “brands” once you have a collection of lenses… I’ve been very happy with Canon - but it’s all I’ve used other than my very first fully-manual Minolta, so literally nothing to compare it to. I’ve heard very good things about Sony as well…
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