Welcome to the Steemit community Amanda! =)
We love original content! Looking forward to your photos. =)
A couple of Steemit tips, but I guess your friend @kommienezuspadt will be more than willing to fill you in, if not already.
Ignore the automated bots, they do nothing for you and just earn from your votes.
Be patient with building an audience. Steemit is not get rich quick scheme. It is about the people and the relationships you build here.
7 reasons that low/no payout is not the reason to quit on Steemit
https://steemit.com/steemit/@hiroyamagishi/7-reasons-that-low-payout-is-not-the-reason-to-give-up-on-steemit
For many new people, the voting and points system seems complicated at first. Here is an excellent post and entertaining video about how it all works.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@sethlinson/announcing-steemit-explained-a-new-animated-series
You also earn rewards for resharing (resteem) and commenting. How cool is that? So it pays for us all to get involved with other people and their content.
Welcome aboard and full Steem ahead! =)
Leo.