Kudos to you for standing up to the "you'll get great exposure" tyranny thats rampant in the writing world as well. Yael Wolfe even put out an article on this recently.

I could totally relate to the point where you said you found it difficult to go the extra mile at work when the fact that someone lowballed the heck out of you is sitting in some corner of your mind.

The reason I could relate to it myself was because I've been treated similarly in the adventure sports space as a trek guide. Since you're doing this mainly for exposure your mind is torn between giving it your all so that it can glitter on your portfolio and doing the bare minimum because of the peanuts you're being paid or aren't even being paid at all. Its a very thin line to walk and a conundrum I'd never want to be in myself ever again. Its why I immediately realized being a trek lead wasn't my thing, and I just got back to organizing treks in my trekking club informally.