Steem is beautiful @southernliving and it's because of steemers like you that make it so beautiful.
A few tips to help you. If you post high quality posts you will gain a following, gain a good reputation and much more. Post only High Quality Content.
High Quality Content that's original media (If you do post another's work credit & post URL.) The more original photos the better > descriptions on the photos and interesting stories (100 word limit but the more the better) Think of it as writing a book with images and video to be published when you're finish. No matter how great it is in the beginning most posts won't see many rewards because no one knows you. Clever titles and photos, may help a little but don't get frustrated there's is something better for minnows/newbies to do to get noticed and that is to check out other posts > comment on interesting post and get into discussions (commenting) YOU GET PAID for helpful/interesting comments. Upvote high quality posts only because YOU GET PAID for UPvoting good content (curation) and you get known in the community > you get a following. Striking out into the steemit community gets you rewards$$, recognition/following and a knowledge of what is going on with steemit and a know how what a High Quality post looks like and gets paid.
Welcome to Steemit! I'm happy you've joined our creative steemian community and I hope this Quick Start Guide will help you on your Steemit journey:

https://www.steemithelp.net/
Stay Creative > Keep Posting > Steemit Like You Meenit