At the risk of starting a flame war...

Go to Daz3d and download Victoria 4 and Michael 4 first thing. They are the two most widely supported characters (the native Poser characters being somewhat under-supported, but that's another story.) The figures are FREE. The morph++ packs are not. HOWEVER, join Daz's Platinum club, and they are quite cheap. The reason I say this is, the base figures are just short of useless... all of the character sets you see at Daz and here at Rendo require them.

After the characters, it's what you like. You'll need hairs, clothing, et al. Some of this is available in the freebee's section. Check that out first, but be aware that while many freebee's are good pieces a great many ARE NOT. Don't condemn Poser because of shortcomings in the free materials you try out.

To disagree with a poster above. You DO NOT want to try and design your own clothes et all in the beginning. If you don't know the design softwares, they'll run you off from the hobby far faster than Poser will. Go with any of the incredible multitude of pieces the talented artists have created already. Lean one step at the time, Poser being the first step.

Lastly, DO render at "Final" quality with the "Use Displacement Maps" box checked under "Render options." DO NOT play with IDL lighting until you find your way around the system. This is an extremely powerful tool, but one that throws nebees into a tizzy of frustration if they begin the learning process for Poser trying to use it.

Finally, don't be afraid to ask for click by click help. There are plenty of us here more than willing to give it. (People like me, who are retired and don't have NEAR enough to do!)