Everyone has a large proportion of dead followers. That does not negate my point, which was that you have followers you have interacted with in the past who come to upvote your posts thanks you having interacted with them in the past. Everyone who's been here for years has such followers.

My main thesis also stands. Your content is pretty well rewarded for its quality, which proves my claim that engagement has a significant financial benefit.

My advice to you is that if you want to earn better on single photograph posts with little story to them, it would make sense to learn the basics of photography. You don't need fancy gear. A regular smartphone will do just fine. The internet is full of tutorials for beginners. Once you have internalized the basics, you will be taking much better photos without expending any more effort.