I like film grain, chromatic aberration, still objects/scenes, and capturing a singular moment in time. I think of photography itself as an art. Yes, the subject is important too, something that should be visually pleasing; it's about the way it's presented for me.
I've been using cameras for a long time. The first photos I took that I really liked were shot on a Nexus 5X phone, and then a Pixel 2 XL. After that, I moved to a (semi) professional camera, the Canon T7, which I still use today. I also have two lenses: an 18-55mm and a 75-300mm (though I barely use the latter). If you like how something looks, just take a photo. You'll eventually get a feel for it. I don't even edit my photos; most of these are Canon RAW files that I just compress and upload. If you want full-resolution photos, feel free to email me—storage space is expensive!