IMO anyone just getting into it shouldn't worry much about gear, when I host group sessions I always tell everyone to bring whatever camera they feel the most comfortable with, even a phone camera as they're all really great point and shoots these days.
Excellent advice!
IMO, there are more important things to ponder/consider that will help drive making a successful or strong photograph.
With respect to evaluating potential scenes and shots to
make photographs of...
When I approach a scene, usually one with people (sometimes without), I mentally consider if the scene has the potential to stir a viewer's imagination. And if so, would it be enough for the viewer to come up with some kind of narrative. And that could be any narrative, and not necessarily what I might have come up with. And with that, hopefully there's a little bit of mystery or ambiguity for the viewer to contemplate.
And that gets into my second sentence above with the word
make. I use the word make instead of
take with respect to creating photographs.
Taking photographs to me means little thought has gone into the process - you point the camera at something and release the shutter without giving it much thought.
Making a photograph to me means there's a number of decisions to consider before releasing the shutter: what should be or not be included in the frame, considering light and its quality, are shadows working for or against you, understanding that gesture(s) of people in the frame is really important, wondering if some tilt would be appropriate to create a feeling of uneasiness, considering letting some details drop into the shadows to stir imagination, to blur or not blur the background (or foreground), capturing motion or no motion, etc, etc.
For me, that makes creating photographs both challenging and fun.