06
Feb
All files submitted in the LuxCreators Footage category must be prepared for commercial use. To ensure that your file is reviewed quickly, please follow the standards outlined below.
Stock Footage Submission Requirements
Technical Requirements
- Stock Footage must be provided within a Quicktime MOV or MP4 container, and must use one of the following encoding formats (no other formats are accepted at this time):
- Photo JPEG
- PNG + Alpha
- Apple ProRes 422
- Apple ProRes 422 HQ
- H.264
- Stock Footage must be one of the following resolutions:
- Full HD: 1920×1080
- 4K: (3840×2160 minimum resolution)
- Stock Footage must be a minimum of 5 seconds of usable footage in order to be accepted. If 5 usable seconds cannot be produced in any one clip, we suggest packing together a few similar clips that when combined will equal 5 seconds or more in total length.
- If you have submitted footage that includes a human face, distinguishable building, or landmark, you will need a signed talent or property release. You should scan in the release in either PDF or JPG format.
- If you have UHD footage and would also like to make the footage available in an HD resolution, you can submit two separate items of the same file, one in 4K and the other in 1920×1080. The two items that are created should have matching titles.
- When submitting a video, the preview video is public visible on the website, at 1920×1080 resolution with the watermark applied over.
Visual Requirements
All Stock Footage submissions should be curated and carefully prepared prior to submitting any files to LuxCreators. Any files which do not meet the criteria listed below will not be accepted.
Do submit:
- Footage with a strong composition that’s been well lit and properly exposed.
- Footage with obvious and useful subject matter that can appeal to a wide range of potential uses.
- Footage that employs standard techniques such as smooth pans, tilts, dollies, tracks, and zooms.
- Footage that includes moving subjects.
- Footage that’s as close to original as possible. When necessary, you can perform basic color correction and image adjustment.
- Footage that’s been edited removing abrupt camera moves at the start or end of the shot.
Don’t submit:
- Footage that has unclear or odd subject matter.
- Footage that is poorly composed, or not setup in a professional manner (lighting, lens selection, depth of field, exposure, etc.).
- Handheld footage that has unstable camera movement, vibrations, or shaking that does not add value to the shot.
- Footage that contains little to no subject movement. When shooting a static environment, techniques such as pans, tilts, dollies, and tracks can be used to add movement. Please note, shots containing zooming in or out on static subjects will not be accepted.
- Footage that has been overly stylized or has had effects applied. While some color correction is allowed, footage should not be tinted or graded to match a specific look or feel as this limits how it can be used by customers. Footage with effects, will not be accepted.
- Footage containing audio that does not add value to the file. For example, footage taken in a park can contain general background audio, but if two people happen to be close and their conversation is audible, the audio is not useful and should be removed from the file.
- Footage shot using a low-quality camera such as an action camera or mobile phone.
- Footage that has visible compression artifacts such as noise/grain, pixelization, blocking, or banding.
General Photo Technical Requirements
General Specs
- Photos must be RGB formatted .JPG files only. Our upload system will ignore all other file types.
- Photos must not contain any custom watermarks, date stamps, or signatures overtop of the image.
- Please be sure to check your images at 100% full-resolution before submitting to inspect for any issues and ensure it meets our technical quality requirements.
Technical Quality
Resolution
- Photos must be between 4 megapixels (4.0 MP) and 80 megapixels (80.0 MP) in size.
- Do not upsize/upsample your photos or individual elements within your photos.
- Downsizing may be acceptable under certain circumstances to help minimize issues around focus, noise, etc. However keep in mind our minimum resolution requirements, and that we prefer high quality, high-resolution photos that have been well-executed from start to finish.
Noise & Artifacts
- Photos must be free of excessive noise/grain/pixel-discoloration
- As a general rule to avoid excessive noise, the camera should be set towards the lowest ISO setting, minimize long exposures, and ensure proper lighting and exposure settings during capture.
- Noise reduction processing is acceptable (e.g. via Lightroom), however, be sure not to overcompensate where too much detail is lost and edges/colors start to bleed together.
- Photos must not contain any visible compression artifacts (e.g. banding in gradients)
- Photos must not contain excessive chromatic aberration (aka “purple fringing”)
- Chromatic aberration is characterized as distinctly off-colored edges, often purple/green, and is usually the result of a combination of high contrast lighting with a wide aperture like f2.8 or greater.
- Photos must be free of any sensor spots/dust
- Sensor spots are unwanted gray/dark spots caused by dust or smudges on the camera sensor/lens, often most visible in brighter areas of an image.
- Be sure to clean your sensor and lens before shooting, or carefully remove any sensor spots in post-production.
Composition & Focus
- Photos must have proper framing/composition
- Photos should be cropped to remove any distractions or unwanted elements, and in a way that naturally enhances the focal point of the image.
- Do not over-crop your photos. When in doubt, aim on the wider side to leave enough room and/or copy space to provide customers with sufficient flexibility for their needs.
- Make sure that the horizon has been appropriately straightened.
- Photos must have proper focus and be free of unintended blurriness or lack of detail (e.g. as caused by camera/hand shake, too slow shutter speed, or the focus locked on the wrong part of the image)
- Depth of field should be thought out and fit with the style and intent of the shot.
- Do not use any faux depth of field or fake blurring techniques, such as compositing a sharp subject over a blurry background.
- Techniques such as natural motion blur are okay, e.g. to convey movement/energy.
Lighting & Exposure
- Photos must have proper lighting/exposure. Do not submit photos with overly harsh or overly soft lighting.
- Photos must not contain any harsh, unnatural, unflattering or distracting shadows or reflections.
- Photos must not be underexposed, where the brightest highlights are gray and the overall image is too dark.
- Photos must not be overexposed, where most of the highlights are completely blown out (fully white), and significant detail is lost, or where people’s skin may result in a yellowish cast.
- Natural lighting is preferred where possible, but artificial lighting is acceptable if properly used (e.g. studio shots).
Distortion
- Photos must be free of unwanted perspective/lens distortion, e.g. pincushion or barrel distortion, etc., that result in an unnatural or unflattering image.
- Lens/perspective techniques such as fisheye and tilt-shift are okay, e.g. to convey a particular emotion or unique point of view. Use of perspective/lens distortion in this way must be thought out and fit with the style and intent of the shot.
Retouching & Processing
- Use of subtle retouching and processing is acceptable to enhance the clarity, quality, and style of the photo. This includes things like:
- Color correction (including stylized filters).
- Exposure, contrast, and white balance adjustment.
- Subtle sharpening / noise-removal.
- Minimal healing/retouching.
- HDR processing that enhances the detail in the highlights and shadows.
- Do not submit photos that have been over-processed/over-corrected, where the result of the processing or retouching is visibly perceptible or distracting. This includes things like:
- Blurriness/softness due to excessive noise reduction.
- Added noise due to over-sharpening.
- Highlight blow-outs due to increased exposure.
- Artifacts of elements that were removed/healed.
- Plastic-looking skin from over-retouching.
- HDR images with unnatural shadows/highlights or halos around the edges/details.
- Do not submit over-stylized or heavily processed images.
- In general, try to keep the photo as natural, authentic, and broadly useful as possible.
- Do not submit photos with amateurish or low-quality photo effects applied (e.g. rippling, glowing edges, mosaic, harsh vignetting, etc.).
- High quality, properly executed photo effects, filters, and photomanipulations where the application is well thought out and fits with the style and intent of the shot may be acceptable.
Subject Matter and Authenticity
- Photos should strive for a high level of commercial value and authenticity with their subject matter.
- Do not submit photos where the composition or surrounding elements distract from the primary subject, overall mood, or concept.
- Do not submit photos where the subject or environment is overly posed or staged in an unconvincing, cliche, or contrived manner.
- Do not submit photos where people and facial expressions feel noticeably forced or unnatural, and do not fit with the overall scene, mood, or concept.
- Photos with more common subject matter (e.g. flowers, sunsets, cats & dogs) may be subject to higher/stricter standards and must demonstrate unique value to be acceptable.