Photos are fairly easy. The trick is you need to upload them to a photo-hosting site such as TinyPic. Copy the Direct Link for Layouts and stick it in your copy where you want the photo to be, no coding required. Put a caption below that if you want one. Learn to center or make full-width later.
There are several ways to format copy, as you may have discovered. I use this coding for links: [copy you want to appear](full link address), but that may not work with all formatting methods.
thank you steemerpat! I'll fix up my self introduction now
You're welcome. If my second paragraph didn't show the coding, put in brackets the copy you want to appear immediately followed by the web address in parenthesis--no spaces in between. I use a mixture of HTML and markdown--at least I think that's what I'm doing! I didn't know any of this a little over a month ago.