Hi angeliclight,

Well modeling from photos is a really hard exercice. I mean, it's easier, if you just starting, to model something you can have in hand, so you can easily analyse it.
Having photo's reference is good ... as reference, but often not enough. The more info's you have on the model you want to build, the more easy the task will be.

So until you're first familiar with the toolset, I suppose you should start with some simple stuffs you can find around you.

>> is the learning to model process extremly lengthy? I mean, once you learn to model "something" from a photo or plans, is it pretty much the same process?

Sometimes you can repeat what you've learn, sometimes not. If you only modeling cars, after 2 or 3 models, you'll have some automtate process. But everytime you're facing a new shape, well you have to find what's the most effective way to build it, and learning from you past mistakes.