I am on my second Canon SLR, I've had a 300D and now a 350D. I am saving for something further up in the range in the next 18 months. One thing I like about the Canon is the range of bits you can get and the ability to take them with you when you upgrade. If this won't be an issue for you Mark is right, look for a more cost effective startup.

It sounds like you will be doing lots of pictures of people, something I tend to do quite a bit of. What you need is a good flash gun to match the SLR you have bought, combined with a good diffuser the results are really good.

I have a Canon 580EX flashgun, but a friend of mine has a Sigma that is perfect if you are on a budget. They make all the difference.

There are lots of flash diffustion solutions out there, Gary Fong's Lightsphere is quite interesting, but there are many more to choose from, all do a similar thing and they are a must for the type of pictures you will be taking. I have a cheap set of knock off Omni Bounce diffusers from eBay that work quite well.

If you go the Canon route, I can recommend their 50mm F1.8 starter lense, at about £50 ($100 ?) it's a very good choice when taking pictures of people and you don't need a zoom.

I can't speak for any other makes, but I couldn't decide between Canon and Nikon when I started with SLR's. It was the feel of the Canon that sold it, to me it felt better in my hand. It is very important to try the camera in real life first, don't just buy it off the net.

Cheers

Cris.