I started out in 1954 with a Brownie Hawkeye flash model. The lens was mediocre at best, but a little coaching would have greatly improved my output. After that initial outburst, I didn't take pictures again until 1978! I still got no coaching, but I was old enough to learn from my mistakes. But get this. My oldest son was never coached, and he is even retarded/autistic; but his sense of color and composition is quite good. Here's a picture he took of our cat. He was 5 years old (the boy, not the cat).