Photography needs a way to prove itself.
For over a century, photography has been a medium of record. A photograph showed what was there: light hitting a sensor or film, capturing a moment that existed. That relationship between image and reality defined what photography meant.
Generative AI has changed the equation. Today, photorealistic images can be created from text prompts. The visual language of photography (grain, depth of field, lighting) can be synthesized without a camera or a scene. This isn't a problem with AI. It's a problem of distinction. We've lost the ability to tell them apart.
Lumethic exists to restore that distinction. We provide a method to verify that a photograph originated from a camera, not a generator. The verification is cryptographic, based on comparing the published image to the original RAW file. Only the photographer has that file.
We're building infrastructure for photographic truth.
Our Mission
We believe photographs (images created by cameras capturing real scenes) deserve a way to prove their origin. Our mission is to make verification accessible, transparent, and grounded in open standards. We work to preserve the documentary function of photography in an era where that function is no longer assumed.
Long-Term Vision
We're working toward a future where the origin of an image is as verifiable as the source of a document. Where photographs carry proof of their creation. Where the camera-made and the computer-generated can coexist, but are clearly distinguished. This isn't about eliminating synthetic images. It's about knowing which is which.
Why We Do This
The documentary function of photography depends on a shared understanding that photographs represent something that existed in front of a camera. That understanding is no longer automatic. Synthetic images are indistinguishable from photographs at first glance. Without a way to verify origin, the medium loses its evidential weight.
This affects more than photographers. It affects journalism, historical documentation, legal proceedings, and any field that relies on photographs as evidence. When every image is potentially synthetic, all images become suspect. The cost is borne by legitimate work.
We built Lumethic because the problem isn't going away, and the existing solutions are reactive and insufficient. Verification needs to happen at the source, where the photograph is created. That's where the proof exists.
Our Values
Evidence Over Claims. Authenticity isn't declared, it's demonstrated. We verify photographs against their source files using forensic comparison. The proof is in the data, not the assertion.
Photographers Own the Process. Verification should be in the hands of creators, not gatekeepers. Photographers control when and how their work is verified. We provide the infrastructure, they provide the files.
Clear Methods. Verification reports show what was checked and the results. Each report displays the comparison between RAW and JPEG, making the verification process transparent and auditable.
Trust Through Verification. Trust in images should be based on verifiable proof, not reputation or assumption. Our verification produces cryptographic evidence that can be independently checked.
Accessible Tools. Verification technology should be straightforward to use. Complexity in the background, simplicity in practice. Upload files, get a verification report.
Supporting Photographic Practice. We exist to support camera-based photography, not to dictate what it should be. Standard adjustments like exposure, contrast, cropping, or rotation are part of photography. What's not allowed is adding, removing, or altering image content. We verify the source and integrity, not the aesthetics.
Open Standards. We build on C2PA, an open standard for content provenance. Proprietary systems fragment trust infrastructure. Open standards create interoperability and longevity.
Our Commitments
We do not store photographers' RAW files. RAW files uploaded for verification are processed and immediately discarded. We verify, we don't archive. We do not verify images without comparing them to source files. Every verification is based on forensic analysis, not shortcuts or assumptions. We use open standards, specifically C2PA, for all verification metadata. The proof we generate can be read by any compliant tool, not just ours. We do not train AI models on submitted photographs. We do not sell photographer data. The work submitted for verification is used only for that purpose.
Learn More
Read our technical documentation or explore how verification works.