Click photos to enlargeEveryone can take great looking photos given the right camera, in this case, the Nikon D40 digital SLR. It's a consumer's dream-come-true camera (relatively inexpensive, light weight, delivers great skin tone, etc.) for capturing your kid's precious moments. Although there are also other great other cameras out there at the same price range, I recommend Nikon for it produces great skin tones right out of the bat.
Pocket cameras are okay when your snowboarding, kayaking, taking a snapshot, taking a landscape or object photos, or just being stealthy but it doesn't help that much when your photographing kids that would rather play than pose for a quick snapshot, so you have to have a fast camera. You can take all the pictures you like with a pocket camera, but if you can't capture those precious moments, then what's the use.
Editing is another story. You can make anything you want with your photos...black and white, sepia toned, modern antique, you name it, you're only limited to your imagination. Adobe Photoshop Elements or Corel PaintShop Pro, just to name a few, will help you create your own masterpiece for less than $100 a software. It's great for cropping, removing redeye, removing unwanted blemishes, whitening teeth, etc.
Always try to make your image pop and draw the attention to your subject. A simple background would help a lot especially with portrait photos. Also, always focus on the eyes. Everything else would fall into place as long as the eyes are in focus.
It's not easy, I know. But, like I said earlier, if you have the right tools, plus a little practice, you can be the ONE...the one who will take photos of your nephew's birthday party, Christmas party, Halloween party, you brother's wedding, your sister's one day old daughter, your dad's 'FOR SALE' car, your spouse's cell phone for posting on Ebay, etc. For future bride and groom, it's a great gift to have from your parents since your going on a honeymoon.
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT FOR STARTERS:
Nikon D40 D-SLR Kit with Nikkor 18-55mm lens ($470)
SB-400 Speedlight ($140)
The whole arsenal above are insanely lightweight, well, almost insanely.
