Arly, I'm a photographer's daughter and pretty good myself. My advice: buy a
good 35 mm (through-the-lens) camera with close-up lens and ring flash in a
decent photo store. Consumer Reports frequently rates camera - start there
for brand and price information. A decent camera can be less than $200, the
lens $50-100, and the ring flash around $50. Sometimes you can get excellent
buys on used equipment from a photo store.

Buy a few rolls of inexpensive color print film and experiment taking
pictures of color photographs tacked onto your wall - distance, exposure,
etc, following the charts on the film packaging.  Write down your
experiments, and after the film is developed you'll have a sense of your
skill. Keep practicing till you can get the picture in focus every time, and
the color balance right. Then repeat this using non-threatening body parts
such as family members' faces, shoulders, fingers, inside the mouth, etc.
Keep good notes.  When you're ready, get good print or slide film ("color"
means print or color negative,  "chrome" means slides or color positives.)
and try the same skills on some practice clients who don't mind assisting
your learning.  Always get written permission from the mother to photograph
her and her baby, and keep these on file.

Another way is make friends with a medical photographer, news photographer,
or take a photography course at a local college or trade school.  Ask around
till you find someone who can teach you at the basic level how to take good
pictures of body parts. Dentists and orthodontists are often skilled at this
kind of photography.

Linda Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC - grew up in a photography studio with all the
chemicals and spotlights and thought everyone had a home business cause we
did.