Most layouts do not look cheap because of the photography or the colour. They look cheap because of spacing.

Tight, uneven margins read as amateur before anyone reads a word. Generous, consistent space reads as considered. The content can be identical. The impression is not.

The second tell is hierarchy. When everything is bold, nothing is. Pick one thing to be loud on the page, make the rest quiet, and the eye finally knows where to land.

Fix the spacing, fix the hierarchy, and most work jumps a tier before you touch a single asset.