yore So if I understand this correctly, it won't matter whether or not I enable Storage Scopes as the media will save to the DCIM/Camera folder regardless?
Yes.
And if I reinstall Google Camera, would I need to grant Storage Scopes and select the folder for the app to see the previous media? Would that mean permitting access to the DCIM/Camera folder?
Correct, see this from the Storage Scopes section:
The most significant limitation of Storage Scopes is the fact that the app will lose access to files that it created if it's uninstalled and then installed again, same as any other app that doesn't have a storage access permission. As a workaround, users can manually grant access to these files/directories via SAF picker.
Can Google Camera change its save location? If yes, you could also consider making a "Google Photos" folder, setting it as the location for images taken, and then adding the folder in Storage Scopes for the Google Camera.