Hi there @celestialcow! ⭐️ I’m so sorry that you felt left out of our competition - that was not our aim, in fact it was quite the opposite. We are trying to include everyone as best as we can 💚 with all of the entries into the contest I must have missed upvoting yours unfortunately. We have been one Steemit for a month so far so we are still getting the hang of getting around. I have upvoted your post today🌱

And I totally understand what you’re feeling right now - this does seem like a ton of work that hardly gets recognized but my only advice is to keep on going, keep learning and make the best with what you have. As long as each time you make content, you learn and improve your skills, you’re on the right track. When we started taking food photos six months ago we didn’t realize how much there was to learn. Even now we still have a whole list of things we need to master.

And believe me you can work wonders with a smartphone, well-positioned lighting and styling your photos. My recent post about how to take photos with your smartphone might be helpful here.

Please reach out if you need anything else, we’re here for you! ⭐️