Calling all photographers

From amateur to professional and anything in between. I’m looking at possibly getting a camera for just a little better quality pictures here and there. Looking for recommendations on brands/models/packages, and since Black Friday/cyber Monday are around the corner, now seems like a good time to buy. I asked on Facebook and my photography friends (most of whom have not ever taken photography classes, just own a fancy camera and photo editing software) tell me to invest in photography sessions. We have a photographer that we use for major events, and we will stick with her as she gives you all images on a disk with the rights to all the pictures, so there aren’t extra fees involved. Still, it ends up being $100-200 a time, and that adds up quickly.

My issue is that sometimes the weather has been nice and I try to do my own pictures; I don’t want to have to set up a session (her weekends are usually booked out quite far) and then rely on unpredictable MN weather. We registered for fall pictures in a pumpkin patch and I was SO EXCITED until it rained the original weekend and snowed the following weekend when they were rescheduled, so she ended up canceling 😒😞 I ended up getting some really good ones on my own, but I hate that photo service like Snapfish recommend 4x5.3 or whatever for phone pictures, and if you print them too large they look bad. Aaaaand then I had other people telling me to get a new phone. Cameras are cheaper than phones 🤣 and I just had the battery in my iPhone 7 replaced for free, so this thing is gonna be with me for awhile. Also, if I did get a new phone, it would be an iPhone; I don’t think I could ever make the switch to a different brand, so anything other than an iPhone is really not an option just for the ease of everyone in my life having iPhones and the syncing with our other Apple products at home. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Basically I’m wondering what are my options or what are cameras you would recommend? Or is it really truly not worth it?

Picture included from the fall pictures I managed to get with my phone. I just hate that they’re so small 😞