I was friends with a good though mostly hobbyist photographer (see here) for a while and we went photo hunting a few times. It was my experience that equipment helps to make more out of a photo but the key ingredients are
an eye for photogenic objects and scenes
experience how to capture that (e.g. from which direction/angle/time)
general rules of composition and lighting
And only the last part you can fix with software later.
To learn the former, it probably helps to hang out with photographers.
I was friends with a good though mostly hobbyist photographer (see here) for a while and we went photo hunting a few times. It was my experience that equipment helps to make more out of a photo but the key ingredients are
an eye for photogenic objects and scenes
experience how to capture that (e.g. from which direction/angle/time)
general rules of composition and lighting
And only the last part you can fix with software later.
To learn the former, it probably helps to hang out with photographers.