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welcome to the nuthouse.
$1,500 will get you an ok beginners scope, but upgradeability is not a feature telescopes have. It can be done of course, but its not as simple as buy "this the scope" plus "this upgrade package" and your first criteria is already at odds with itself and can kill your use of a telescope for any purpose.
for astrophotography you really want an Equatorial mount (EQ) but its poor for visual use, for visual you want an Altitude-Azimuth mount (AltAz) but its poor for photography. Most people have both for the appropriate usage.
What people call a "telescope" really consists of three main parts: the Optical Tube Assembly (OTA, th telescope tube itself), a Mount (this is the mechanism that connects the OTA to the tripod and can offer motorised movement for tracking), the base (tripod, box, or post that provides a firm solid foundation to hold the mount and OTA). These all play their part and can all be replaced later on but on a budget if you make a poor initial purchase (which many do, going for the setup that "looks impressive").
You can use ANY telescope in light polluted skies but will gain improvement from a dark site. Its the eyepieces that determine the quality of the view and a single good eyepiece can cost $1,500 itself for this reason. Cheap eyepieces and particular the ones supplied when you buy a telescope will be poor and often a reason for putting people off using their telescope because they are uncomfortable to use.
All this stuff has been said and resaid many times. But if you want to make a good decision you need to experience some telescopes and eyepieces, get yourself to an astronomy club outing where you can chat to other owners, have a look through various eyepieces and see for yourself if its what you want. Number one, astrophotos do not show what these things look like through an eyepiece, galaxies and nebula are not bright and colourful, you'll be seeing in greyscale with your eyes. Planets won't fill the eyepiece view either but they are impressive to see for yourself even as a small dot.
Failing that just buy a dobsonian. Great for beginners and simple to use, photography difficult but not impossible. Or maybe a SCT on Alt Az mount (goto ideal, and Wedge available as option to help photography.)Maybe Celestron 5SE (has built in wedge, GOTO, and portable). Seriously you're asking what many people do "I want a scope that does everything and I've got peanuts to pay". The 5se is a great allrounder but slow so will struggle
with galaxies and other "faint fuzzies" while a dobsonian is great for that sort of thing (even in light pollution) but poor if you're serious about astrophotography. Its why there are so many confusing options, each type has its strengths and weaknesses, technically they can all do visual plus astrophotography but none are perfect for both at any price.
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