Whether or not you want to do them, at some point you’ll be the person with the “good” camera and be called upon to shoot some portraits for family and friends.  This doesn’t mean it has to be hard or expensive.  To do a decent job you need a hotshoe mount flash, often called a speed light and a white ceiling and for more advanced lighting, you need a flash, a radio control kit, a light stand, an umbrella bracket and an umbrella.  It really could not get much simpler.