Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

"chase" advice is OK but in my mind photography is a combination of two things. Let's call them Art and Technical. The art might work with the phone but the technical is learning how to use or control the camera.
In my mind you must get use to you camera to set to make dissuasions. If you have a camera that is comfortable in your hands it's a start.
The steps you might try is setting your camera on "A" this wise control you camera's ISO, speed and lens setting. You will be able to learn the feel of the camera and work on the framing of the picture (the art end). The I would go the P and you will control the ISO and then to either set your speed or lens opening and the camera will pick up the other setting. Any this point you are a photographer but need to learn to set the focus points.
I think this will let you take pictures and grow at the same time.
This is my opinion as you have no one to be with and guide you.

Beenthere

I won't recommend a brand, but I will suggest that you consider one of the "mirrorless" models by Olympus, Lumix(Panasonic), Sony, Fuji. There are also offerings by the "big two", Canon and Nikon in both DSLR and Digital. Picking either of these categories brings you to cost and how compact you want to go, Canons and Nikon being the most bulky. All are good, offering high quality images when used properly. Sorry to do this but all of the brands mentioned are reputable brands so you'll have to look around yourself and see what fits your possible style.

Bubbaeml Loc: Port Jefferson, NY

A successful photographer can take a picture with any camera weather it has a mirror or not....

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

With the wrong camera, success is probably 99% luck. But with a mirrorless camera, it's 100% the photographer.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Many of us would disagree with that. With any camera, success is 100% the photographer.

ronpier Loc: Poland Ohio

Welcome!! First of all please determine how much you can afford for a camera and lenses. Go to a camera store, Best Buy or any place to handle the cameras. If not available read read read. Like it or not learning photography involves a lot of research along with hands on experience. Expect to continually learn about this wonderful hobby and expect to spend more than your budget over a period of time. AND most of all be careful about others trying to spend your money. Make your own decisions about your likes and dislikes. Best wishes and keep shooting to the end. Ron

LaoXiang

I cannot understand this .... I I do understand that you are very good and very experienced photographer.

With a phone or a point-and-shoot, or any DSLR or Mirrorless (and I have used a number of Canon DSLRs and the R6) set on Auto .... all it takes is aiming.

And still, what makes a good photograph is 100 percent the shooter.

Henri Cartier--Bresson, (from what I have been told) used a film Leica with a fast fifty .... all the "magic" of his art is his artistry, his ability to see a scene as it would look on film, and his technique, to be able to use his camera to create/capture that scene.

In All photography, excellence is independent of the tool.

For most photographers, obviously there is a limit beneath which the tool would be a hindrance (a pinhole camera) and an upper limit where the capacities of the camera exceed the user's abilities---there are so many different adjustments to create so many effects, and if the shooter not yet learned them or how to use them, they are excess.

With a mirrorless or a DSLR, as with a phone .... "success" in the most basic sense---a sharp picture with reasonable light and color--- can be 99 percent the camera, so long as the shooter can aim and hold steady, and so long as the shooter aims at stuff like pets or flowers or whatever .... stuff that is intrinsically attractive to most viewers.

(In fact, without mirror slap, the mirrorless might be easier because the camera won't shake that tiny amount on shutter release.)

The one main benefit to mirrorless is that it is the way manufacturers want to go---and not, I don't think, because it is "More advanced," but because it is in fact simpler.

Mirrorless is more electronics, less minutely machined moving parts. Less to break, less top malfunction. More circuit boards, fewer moving parts.

However, most of the sports shooters I knew up until just a very short while ago, preferred DSLRs. I don't know why ... but these are people who make their living with cameras, and who can buy whatever cameras they want.

In any case .... if Nikon goes broke and Canon drops the 1DX .... but until then, (and I am fairly certain Canon and whoever else will eventually develop mirrorless which can equal or outperforms the best of Canon and Nikon---but they haven't yet) then the mirrorless is not the Only option for the future. Maybe in a decade ... but I don't buy to shoot in ten years.

Sorry, I digress.

Anyway .... maybe I misunderstood your comment that "With the wrong camera, success is probably 99% luck. But with a mirrorless camera, it's 100% the photographer." What would be a "wrong" camera? Why would success (and how do you define "success" in this context?) be 99 percent luck? And why would the same person not be able to have luck with a camera without a mirror? As I say, I have used the supposedly best mirrorless out there .... and don't see why a beginner couldn't put it on "Auto" and get a lot of good shots.

John Hicks Loc: Sible Hedinham North Essex England

I totally disagree with paul, one of the finest photographers in the UK is Derek Birwin he had photographed every thing there is to take including Royalty, Celebrities, Film and Sports, Prime ministers and Presidents, under water photography including pictures of the wreck of the Titanic. None of these using a mirrorless camera. Also David Bailey and Lord Lichfield never used mirrored cameras, two photographers who filmed the famous and Royalty.

So please Paul mirrorless cameras are good but that does not mean DSLR are not, at the end of the day it is the photographer who makes the difference.

BebuLamar

Don't mind Paul. He just goes with the flow.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Hello and welcome to the group. You will notice that the suggestions you have received are pretty much all over the map. There are a couple of reasons for that. The first is that folks tend to recommend what they know, which for most is really pretty limited. The second, and maybe more important is that we don't know you. We don't know if your interest is casual, conditional, or committed. My response to you will vary widely depending on the answer.

For someone who is obviously committed, my answer is to buy the best initial system you can comfortably afford. I have really strong reasons for saying that to someone who is obviously serious and committed.

If you are less sure, you still need to select a camera system which gives you at least the option to control the basic "adjustable" elements of photography...things like focus, shutter speed, aperture, sensitivity, to name a few. Without the capability of adjusting these, you can just continue using the camera in your phone and concentrate on composition and "visioning."

No matter who you are, I suggest that you ignore the falderol and hoopla over mirrorless cameras. They are too expensive for starting out, and some of the best manufacturers do not offer anything close to what would be an entry level camera. Also, as you start out, you will do yourself a serious disservice if you teach yourself to be dependent on in-camera stabilization, which seems to be one of the major hallmarks of that design.

Tell us more and we can help more. But mostly plan to have fun. It's a hobby, not a fraternity initiation.

TucsonDave Loc: Tucson, Arizona

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

On the road to success, it's surprising how often you see mirrorless cameras.

TucsonDave Loc: Tucson, Arizona

On the road, not necessarily at the beginning.

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

DSLR is digital! Not sure what you mean with your question. Maybe you want to know the difference between DSLR and mirrorless or digital vs. film?

anotherview Loc: California

Study and practice image composition. For this purpose, almost any camera will do.

Buy a used DSLR camera with a moderate zoom lens.

The Internet offers a boatload of videos and tutorials for beginners. Look there first before buying books.

You could attend a workshop in both camera operation and photo editing, to give you a jump start.

Know that because a craft, photography involves a lot of practice. Learn from your mistakes and successes.

Good luck.