How do I start with photography with no experience?

I love taking pictures... I think I have a pretty decent eye... I need a camera this is easy to use and also very good. I also cannot spend a lot of money (yes I know, this is an expensive hobby). What camera is user friendly and also versitile? Also - what is a good book to read to learn some helpful tips? Thank you!

when it comes to the camera, any one one will do, photographers have bbeen taking beautiful pics for years regardless of technology, when it comes to the price of the hobby, chill, besides the camara, averything else can be pretty cheap, even free in the right situations.
when it come to the lighting, i say sunlight is the way to go, be creative, open the window, let the light enter your house, for indoor lights get a friend to hold a lamp directly into your subject, be innovative and make it work. if you need to reflect light get aluminum foil and use it as a lsilver ight reflector to light up your subject.
for fashion shoots get a friend as model (she doen't have to be hot but unique looking), and make her try clothes on, doesn't have to be pretty, make her edgy, mess the hair up, instead of regular make-up do blue eyes with a brown lipstics and hot pink cheeks, make her do weird poses for a cotour look.
Play with background, what about black background? underwater? in a tree? imagine possibilities.
I first started photographing fruits, and objects to learn composition, and experience with lights, u can even work with zoomed in closed ups.
BUT ALWAYS HAVE FUN

Just start doing it.

classes

Buy a nice basic digital SLR camera... take a few classes or see if you can find a Photographer to give you some pointers on how to use your camera. And then... start experimenting!
You will also need a good photo editing software to crop and enhance images to bring out the best!

You are going to be told to spend a lot of money to get an SLR. Really, that is not what you want to hear when you tell me that you don't have a lot of money. For starters, get yourself a pretty nice point and shoot, either digital or film (film will be less expensive, but digital might be more convenient), then take up your camera and walk. After you have done that for a while, you will come to the decision to either stay with what you have or get a bigger camera system.

The three most expensive things in the word are:

Owning a plane and
Going overboard in photography

If you want to go pro someday then get a DSLR. We use the Canon Rebel XTI at the Art Institute... it's a pretty nice camera and is reasonably priced. It has both automatic and manual features.

if you don't have the money look for second hand equipment
books, magazines web sites or a collage class to get you started but the man thing is to shoot, shoot, shoot
Good luck

Anyone who ever became a professional at anything started with no experience.

When I began about four decades ago, I had to shoot black & white and develop prints in my bathtub to keep costs down.

You are lucky! Once you have purchased your digital camera and memory card, your shots cost NOTHING!

Look at as many photographs you can...on the internet...in photo books. Pay attention to who took the photos and find your favorites. Ansel Adams, Mark Ellen Mark, Weegee are some of the greats. The more you study photos the better your photos will become.

And use the law of averages. The more photos you shoot, the more really great photos you will produce. Digital allows you to shoot a lot for very little cost. You'd be surprised how many professional photographers still use the law of averages.

Good Luck!