Why not just search this website? I know that I've personally answered this question 4-5 times already.

Oh and Blackrose, can you get out of here yet? You whine so damn much that it makes me want to cut myself.

Christ, I don't know what is so hard to understand about views vs. posts. "Looking to start photography" doesn't explain what the body of the post will be about. It gives hints, but not all the way.
For example : A post with the subject of "Help me pick out a camera" and the body of "That takes amazing pictures and is a Canon" is something that I will click, but not post in. I don't know Canon products that well and I won't bother trying to give incorrect information.

Go cry elsewhere please.

Stop spamming my thread and rage less please.

Want a challenge? Become a wedding photographer. It makes the taking of trees n' birds n' scenery cake.
You can start with cameras as simple as a used Sony ax100. That worked for me for about a year. Low price too.

This post was edited by onepagememory on Sep 20 2009 07:25am

Yeah, don't do what onepagememory suggested.... Don't even think about doing weddings unless you're :
a.) Not the main photographer
b.) Friend of the bride and groom's and they do not care.

You will also want fairly good gear to do successful wedding photography. Low light zoom lenses like the Nikon/Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 are about $2,000.

You don't "become" a wedding photographer when you buy a camera and offer to do a wedding. It takes lots of time and you do not want to be messing with your camera trying to figure stuff out while you're at a wedding.
Taking pictures of still life is the first step to wedding photography. You need to learn what all of your settings do in an atmosphere were you will not get stabbed if your pictures don't come out perfectly or if you missed a shot of person X and person Y.

Again, please don't go out and try to book a wedding right away.

This post was edited by WarCow on Sep 20 2009 07:20pm

Less arrogance o plz.

Not once did I suggest for him to become a wedding photographer immediately after buying the camera. I just suggested to him a photography that is much more challenging than what I see in this forum. Trees, scrubs and bugs get boring after the first 100 pictures. You can't calibrate your camera over and over and over and take as long as you want in a wedding as they change your light every twenty seconds. You can't take too much RAW unless you've got a laptop transfer or too many memory cards. Most importantly, these images will actually be seen by someone who cares, which is what makes the profession most difficult.

This post was edited by onepagememory on Sep 20 2009 08:17pm

Well his thread is "Looking to start photography" - How would doing weddings be something that would help him?

Get something like the Nikon D300s or the D5000 - they are great cameras that you'll be able to keep around for a while. Just remember that the lenses that you get with them will last you longer than the bodies.

Best way to make money with photography so (surprise surprise!) he can get more expensive equipment.
Even as an amateur photographer with a point n shooter he'd get money quicker than taking images of trees or scrubs or bugs.

Right, or he can get taken to small claims court and have less money than what he started with. You don't mess with people's weddings. Simple as that.
Unless you are a free backup photographer, there is no reason to do weddings right off the bat. As soon as money is involved, there is a certain level of expectation as far as quality of work goes.

You need, at the very least, a good portfolio before people will trust you enough to let you photograph their wedding. "Professional" photography is not cheap to get into. You need to have good gear before you can start getting paid for your work.

The level of quality and gravity of expectations is proportionally related to the amount charged. Same with experience/'trust.' There is no reason to begin with wedding photography immediately after opening the package of his camera. Not once was that mentioned either.

I started as a backup photographer wiith a used Sony AX100. By then I had read online most of the theory I needed to produce decent pictures for the money I was getting paid. No need to stay with trees and scrubs and bugs more than ten days.

This post was edited by onepagememory on Sep 22 2009 08:10am

What is the budget you have for buying a camera?
And what do you LIKE and WANT to do with it?

Also please everyone stop putting down pictures of flowers and bugs and such.
Call me noob if you want, but bug photography is what I want to specialize in.
I love the exploring part and trying to get the best shot of spiders, for instance, in their natural surroundings.
I think it can be as difficult to shoot a wild animal as shooting a person who will not run away when you approach it.

It's a question of interest and taste.
Nothing is better or harder.
But you need to kow what you want to do and how much you can invest, before you decide on a product.

Please no more flaming, or else this topic will not be open for any more comment.