# Lumethic

> Photo verification platform that proves image authenticity by comparing them against original camera RAW files. Uses the C2PA open standard for content credentials, aligned with the vision and goals of the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI).

The complete knowledge base (all articles, full text) is available in a single file at https://www.lumethic.com/llms-full.txt.

Lumethic helps photographers prove their work is real and unmodified while helping buyers verify photo integrity. We address the digital trust crisis caused by AI-generated images and sophisticated manipulation by providing forensic-level verification that only the original photographer can generate (since only they have the RAW file).

Key verification process: Users upload their camera RAW file and corresponding JPEG. Our system uses SSIM algorithms, perceptual hashing, metadata analysis, and sensor signature verification to generate tamper-proof reports with 99%+ accuracy. Processing takes 2-5 minutes and RAW files are immediately deleted for privacy protection.

Photographers can securely sell their verified photos through Lumethic's marketplace, where every image comes with cryptographic proof of authenticity. Buyers receive guaranteed authentic photos with complete verification reports, eliminating the risk of purchasing AI-generated or manipulated content. The platform handles secure payments and licensing while maintaining the photographer's privacy (RAW files are never exposed).

Primary use cases include photography contests (avoiding AI accusations), freelance client work (20-30% higher rates reported), copyright protection (DMCA evidence), legal proceedings (court admissibility), insurance fraud detection, news organization verification, and secure authentic photo sales.

Pricing: Freemium with 5 free verifications, Basic ($3.95/month, 50 verifications), Professional ($49.95/month, 1000 verifications + API), Enterprise (custom volumes).

## Documentation

- [Image Forensics Chain of Custody: 6 Steps to Court-Admissible Photos](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/forensic-photography-legal-cases-chain-of-custody-guide): The six-step chain of custody for photo evidence, FRE 901 authentication, minimum documentation standards, and how C2PA provenance replaces manual logs
- [Every Camera That Supports C2PA Content Credentials](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/cameras-with-c2pa-content-credentials): Which Leica, Nikon, Sony, Canon and Google Pixel models sign photos with C2PA at capture, kept current
- [How to Prove Your Photo Is Real, Not AI-Generated](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/prove-photo-not-ai): RAW evidence, C2PA content credentials, and verify-then-sign for photographers accused of using AI
- [How to Tell If a Photo Is AI-Generated or Real](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/how-to-tell-if-photo-is-ai-generated): The practical checks that still work, why visual detection is weakening, and what actually proves origin
- [Why AI Detectors Flag Real Photos as AI](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/the-false-positive-problem): The technical causes of false positives in AI image detectors and why provenance is the fix
- [Photography Contest AI Policies Database](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/contest-ai-policies-database): AI and authenticity policies across major photography contests, with verbatim rule quotes
- [Does OpenAI Use SynthID?](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/synthid-adoption-2026): Every ChatGPT and OpenAI API image carries Google's SynthID watermark since May 2026; how to check for it and how SynthID differs from C2PA
- [Detecting Recaptured Images](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/detecting-recaptured-images): How screen recaptures and photographed prints are detected, and what they mean for verification
- [EU Rules for AI Images: AI Act, DSA and EMFA](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/eu-ai-regulation-compliance): The three EU laws governing AI-generated and authentic images, and how they interlock
- [Content Authenticity Guide](https://www.lumethic.com/en/content-authenticity): How Lumethic uses the C2PA open standard for content authenticity, aligned with CAI's vision
- [How Lumethic Works](https://www.lumethic.com/en/why-lumethic): Detailed explanation of the verification process and technology (FAQ included on the homepage)
- [Pricing](https://www.lumethic.com/en/pricing): Current plans, free tier, and verification volumes
- [Choosing a Content Authenticity Platform](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/choosing-content-authenticity-platform): Capability-by-capability comparison of C2PA provenance, PRNU sensor matching, RAW verification, hardware attestation, and AI detection, with the use case each fits
- [EU AI Act and C2PA](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/eu-ai-act-c2pa-mandate): What Article 50 requires, whether C2PA is mandated, timeline and penalties
- [Is AI Denoise Allowed in Photo Contests?](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/ai-denoise-photo-contest-rules): What contest rules permit for AI noise reduction, sharpening, and upscaling, and where the line to generative editing runs
- [Canon's Authenticity Imaging System](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/canon-authenticity-imaging-system): Canon's C2PA service for news organizations, how its certificates and timestamps work, and what photographers outside newsrooms can do
- [Content Credentials on Social Platforms](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/content-credentials-social-media-platforms): Which platforms strip, read, or display C2PA metadata, from Instagram to LinkedIn, and what survives upload
- [Which AI Generators Mark Their Output](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/ai-generators-c2pa-watermarks): DALL-E, Firefly, Gemini, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Flux, and Grok compared on C2PA manifests and invisible watermarks
- [Which Phones Sign Photos with Content Credentials](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/smartphones-c2pa-content-credentials): Pixel 10 signs by default, Samsung marks only AI edits, iPhone has no native C2PA; the phone provenance picture and how to close the iPhone gap
- [The CR Icon Does Not Mean an Image Is AI](https://www.lumethic.com/en/articles/content-credentials-icon-not-ai): The Content Credentials icon marks a provenance record, often on authentic photos; how to read the panel and what the icon's absence means

## Free Tools

- [Verify a Photo](https://www.lumethic.com/en/verify): Anonymous verification, no account needed. Full mode compares a camera RAW file against its exported photo; the free quick check screens a single image (JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC/HEIF, AVIF or GIF) for provenance and manipulation traces, no RAW file required
- [AI Photo Checker](https://www.lumethic.com/en/tools/ai-photo-checker): Check an image's C2PA Content Credentials for AI-generation markers instantly in the browser, then optionally run the deeper server-side forensic quick check
- [C2PA Camera Check](https://www.lumethic.com/en/tools/c2pa-camera-check): Look up whether a camera model signs images with content credentials
- [Content Credentials Inspector](https://www.lumethic.com/en/tools/c2pa-inspector): Inspect the full C2PA manifest of any image

## Photo Contest Directory

Per-contest authenticity policy data for major photography contests (current editions): each page documents the contest's AI policy with verbatim rule quotes, RAW-file requirements, C2PA/Content Credentials acceptance, deadlines, and entry fees. The full digest with every contest's policy quotes is included in llms-full.txt.

- [All Contests](https://www.lumethic.com/en/contests): The full directory with deadlines and policy badges
- [Contests that ban AI images](https://www.lumethic.com/en/contests/policy/no-ai): Contests whose rules prohibit AI-generated imagery
- [Contests requiring RAW files](https://www.lumethic.com/en/contests/policy/raw-required): Contests that demand original RAW files for entry or shortlisting
- [Contests accepting Content Credentials](https://www.lumethic.com/en/contests/policy/c2pa-accepted): Contests that mention or accept C2PA
- [Upcoming deadlines](https://www.lumethic.com/en/contests/deadlines): Contest deadlines in chronological order
- [Free-entry contests](https://www.lumethic.com/en/contests/free): Contests without an entry fee

## For Users

- [For Photographers](https://www.lumethic.com/for-photographers): Prove authenticity, protect work, build client trust
- [For Photo Buyers](https://www.lumethic.com/verify-photos): Understand verification reports, detect fraud, ensure credibility
- [Sell Photos with Lumethic](https://www.lumethic.com/sell-photos-with-lumethic): Secure marketplace for photographers to sell verified authentic photos with built-in buyer protection
- [Sample Verification Report](https://www.lumethic.com/verify/sample): See what a complete verification looks like

## Technical

- [API Documentation](https://www.lumethic.com/api): REST API for automated verification workflows
- [MCP Server for AI Agents](https://www.lumethic.com/mcp): Lumethic exposes a remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server so AI agents can verify photo authenticity directly. Streamable HTTP endpoint at https://api.lumethic.com/mcp. Authenticate with a Lumethic API key via `Authorization: Bearer lk_…` or `X-API-Key: lk_…`, or use the rate-limited keyless anonymous tier to try it out. Tools include verify_photo (upload a RAW file plus its JPEG export), create_verification_upload (pre-signed URLs for large RAW files), get_verification (poll by id until completed), list_verifications, get_account_usage, share_verification, and marketplace reads. Errors return machine-readable codes (QUOTA_EXCEEDED, INVALID_CREDENTIALS, RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED).
- [Lightroom Plugin](https://www.lumethic.com/plugin-lightroom): Adobe Lightroom export workflow integration