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Backyard Silver Latest Posts

"How-to" articles

How to Edit, Keyword, and Upload 650 Stock Photos (Fast AI Workflow)

Introduction – keywording 650 photos in six weeks Over the past six weeks, I edited, keyworded, and uploaded roughly 650 stock photos—ranging from travel landscapes in Europe and the UK to commercial data centers and local Texas architecture. I’ve written a lot about using ArtushVision AI as the new mainstay of my keywording and descriptions, but I’m probably guilty of making the whole thing too complex for newer photographers. Partly to have a record of my approach and things I...

Earnings / Stock Photography

How to Make Money with Photography: My $500,000 Case Study

If you are wondering how to make money with photography in today’s saturated market, this week I reached the almost magical half a million dollars in lifetime earnings! However, I need to start with a dose of brutal honesty. But—and it is a big but, I started 18 years ago when online stock photography was in its infancy and competition was low. Replicating that exact path today is highly unlikely, and anyone promising you instant riches or a “magic bullet”...

Earnings / Stock Photography

Is Stock Photography Dead in 2026? June Income Report

Just how much can you earn from photography these days? Sometimes when I look at the earnings from the smaller stock photo agencies I shudder to think just how far they have fallen, and yet, when I add up the totals, it still adds up to a meaningful amount. June is usually on the of the highlights of the year as Adobe Stock make their “free image” license purchases. Big error of judgement for me this time – I only...

Stock Photography

Earnings from online sales and licensing of photography in April 2026

Each month I report my earnings from online sales and licensing of my digital photos and videos and have been doing so for over 16 years now! A long time in this challenging industry, but a rewarding one. I just noticed that my total earnings since I started in 2008 are now $492,443. I guess a party is in order when I reach $500,000 which is probably going to be in August this year. Getting me closer to that target...

"How-to" articles / Stock Photography

Problems with Google Gemini Pro AI in developing WordPress features

Can AI build a complex photography portfolio for you? I spent the last week trying to find out. While the AI was a superstar at metadata, it was a hallucinating mess when it came to WordPress plugins like WP Grid Builder and NextGen Pro.

Today, I’m taking a quick diversion from stock photography to share the technical “post-mortem” of my B2B portal build. I’m breaking down the 24 errors the AI made, the plugins I eventually settled on (Filebird, MLA, and more), and why you need to be much more demanding of your AI “consultant” than you think.

Stock Photography

Selling More Prints: Automating Fine Art SEO Metadata with ArtushVision AI

In my last post, I did a deep dive into how I am using ArtushVision AI to automate my Lightroom Classic keywording workflow for stock photography. It solved a massive headache by reading and writing directly to .XMP sidecar files—meaning my RAW files stay untouched and I don’t have to export a single JPEG just to generate keywords. It works just as well for those who just keyword the JPEGs for upload to the agencies. But as any photographer who...

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