Professional Photography: Fantastic Tools to Have
Camera
If you're interested in professional photography then you will want a nice camera. Yes people can get good pictures with their smart phones and you could too but if you want to be a professional then you will want to look the part if people are to take you seriously. A great camera is the canon rebel and they have a great package with just about everything you will need to get started at a relatively affordable price especially for this kind of camera. There's other good cameras but they run about 600-1000$ and you get just the camera.
Tripod
This is one thing that can be arguable but in my experience it is really needed. If you want to take good photography especially macro photography, landscape, and just about anything else that requires a low shutter speed this will be needed. A low shutter speed makes it so more light can get in and the shutter closes slow and if it's not help right then you can ruin the entire shot. This is also great for taking portraits and for photographing in low light.
Lens
Your lenses are just about as important as the camera. You could have the best camera in the world but if you're using the wrong lense then you won't get a good shot. There is a large amount of lenses available but the most important will be a long zoom lens, a macro lens, and a wide angle lens. These lenses are the most used lenses and what is used in the typical photography class as they can be used for a variety of different things and are the most interchangeable. Now there are a lot of different kinds of lenses in each of these categories and if you can't decide then you should rent a lens and see what ones work the best for you.
Camera case
These cameras are expensive so you will want a safe way to be able to transport it around and the cases come with a strap and can be carried easily. These can also hold all of your other extras like your tripods. Lenses, SD cards, and anything else that you have.
SD cards
These are what will be needed to hold of your photos, your camera will not function without as it has no way to save your photos. The best ones to get is either 8 gigabytes or 16 gigabytes.
So much more...
There are hundreds maybe thousands of other items available for professional photography and this is barely scratching the surface. When it comes to photography you can photograph anything and everything that comes in your path. If you choose to do photography I highly recommend the camera listed above as it comes with many of the things listed except a macro lense. The lenses provided are great for landscapes, portraits, pet pics, wedding photos, baby photos and others like that. Aside from the main tools listed above you can buy backdrops for photos and also special lense covers so you don't have to add filters to your photos, and still more than that. The world of photography is full of new ideas and things to explore!