/p/ starter guide

Literally the first thread on page 1 is the sticky with loads of resources, no idea how you could miss that possibly

Do you have a camera, like, any camera? Normally the best place to start is its manual. Read it. It will tell you what all the settings do (and if you don't understand it, you'll know exactly what to search for on the internet), how to hold the camera and how to use every feature of your camera to your advantage.

You could also start with 35mm film, which many people here (myself included) recommend. Manual film cameras and old lenses are pretty cheap, and they don't have any of the automatic bullshit in a modern camera (not even autofocus), so it forces you to think of every aspect of your picture. Of course, that's only viable if you live somewhere where you can actually walk into a lab and have your film developed. The Pentax K-1000 is famous as the student camera, but there are many comparable alternatives that you can get for cheaper, like an old Zenit SLR, they sell for ~$10 with a lens.