Adding Wood

Let's start from the beginning what smoker are you using?

Zack , hello. You have a firebasket and it's supposed to be above your FB floor ,so use something to shake the basket a bit to clear some of the dust , then load in the fuel in and continue cooking . You should have some embers left in the basket to set-off the fresh and if it is going well , leave the door open for a bit until it starts to blaze , then shut the door and continue. You should have minimal or no off colored smoke .

The ashes you shook out can be caught on a piece of metal in the bottom of the FB , just pull it out and dump the dust in an ashcan.

Have fun and . . .

That smoker looks like C.O.S which in smoker circles is a cheap offset smoker.  COS's  don't make very efficient cookers and require lots of mods to work "better"   Do you have access to wood splits?   They just don't make good charcoal smokers.  If i did use charcoal in it i'd get a  charcoal basket with a maize and use the minion method.   

If I were you i'd seriously think about upgrading to something like a UDS which will be pretty much set it and forget it and be way way way more efficient.   Look at the drum kits from Big Poppa Smokers.