Frequently Asked Questions

1. How I can join LightBurner? Is there any membership fee?
2. Is it really free? Am I supposed to pay for anything?
3. Do you guys get any cut of my sales / commissions if I upload media through LightBurner?
4. What stock agencies are supported?
5. Does LightBurner stores my images? Can I download them whenever I want?
6. How the distribution works? I can not see any "DISTRIBUTE" button in my account!
7. What is a distribution channel?
8. How many images I can upload to LightBurner? Is there any daily/weekly/monthly limit?
9. I forgot my member name / password! What I do now?
10. How I can cancel my account?
11. What web browsers work with LightBurner?
12. What formats can be uploaded?
13. Can I upload EPS/vectors? Video? Audio?
14. What is the best way to upload my files?
15. Where is my data stored? Is my data secure with LightBurner?
16. I am a developer and I am interested to develop an application which connects to LightBurner. How I do that?
17. I represent a stock agency and I would like to see it among the supported sites. Is that possible?
18. Why cant we store images online for longer? even an extra fee to do so, the problem with keeping the files online for only 3 days is that istock for example only allows approx 10 images every three days where as others allow many more uploads, so it would be very hard to keep track of whats uploaded and whats not....
19. What about manual edit of media links? Let's say I do already have a file on one agency. Now I'd like to distribute that image to several channels via Lightburner. Can I add the image that is already there to Lightburner for tracking stats? The same situation could be like I uploaded a file to 2 channels and after a month decide to upload the same file to 3 more new channels. Would Lightburner recognize that it is the same file? That would allow adding more channels in future... Thanks, Nikita
20. How are model releases submitted with applicable images?
21. How to add chanel pixmoney?
22. I''m a newcomer from Germany testing your programm and I'm wondering, why you change a 300DPI-file into a 72 DPI-file. WHAT is the reason? Regards from Munich, Germany burnbenold
23. You’re a real deep thinker. Thakns for sharing.
24. Why cant you display my earnings from shutterstock in the top-right of the screen?
25. How do we get paid if we sign up? Is there a direct deposit into a bank account? Some form of credit system that does not or can not be converted to a real, tangible monetary gain? Does my sold digital media retain my copyright, and my rights, or am I selling those as well? How does this all work?
26. My e-mail address is big, and lightburner do not accept more than 32 characters in the FTP name.
27. Are the images free for the public or businesses to use?
28. After the 3 days how can I keep track of my photos? Are they gone from the system completely or does a thumbnail sized picture remain for me to see my uploads?
29. Why I can not upload my pictures to Crestock and PantherMedia?
30. Why I can not connect to Fotolia and Cutcaster? I am register at this Agencys.
31. do i get any money if my pictures is sold and how do i get paid???
32. how does the payment happen
33. Once I finish uploading the files - how long before they show up ready for final edit and distribution?

Can not find an answer here? Ask your own question at the bottom of this page!

1. Rating: +6

   

   How I can join LightBurner? Is there any membership fee?

   Register here, it takes just a few seconds. The registration is free and you can start uploading and selling your photos immediately.

2. Rating: +8

   

   Is it really free? Am I supposed to pay for anything?

   Yes, the service is free and you are not supposed to pay for the usage. Enjoy it.

3. Rating: +8

   

   Do you guys get any cut of my sales / commissions if I upload media through LightBurner?

   No we do not. Free means free.

4. Rating: +8

   

   What stock agencies are supported?

   Currently we distribute content to:
   - iStockphoto
   - Shutterstock
   - 123rf
   - Dreamstime
   - Fotolia
   - BigStock
   - CanStockPhoto
   - Crestock
   - DepositPhotos
   - Cutcaster
   - Yaymicro
   - Alamy
   - PantherMedia

   You also can define your own FTP custom channels - any FTP-capable stock agency or any other web resource where you want us to deliver your media.

   We integrate more channels frequently. Login and click on 'Channels' list in the top right corner of the page to see the most updated list of supported photo sales channels.

5. Rating: +1

   

   Does LightBurner stores my images? Can I download them whenever I want?

   Uploaded media is kept for 3 days. You will get an email notification before the media removal, so you will have the last chance to distribute your files.

6. Rating: +5

   

   How the distribution works? I can not see any "DISTRIBUTE" button in my account!

   Media distribution is fully automated. Once you assign your media to a distribution channel our system will do the actual distribution. You do not have to press any button or to wait for the beginning or for the end of the distribution. Portfolio shows the distribution status for all the displayed media items. Refresh the page if you want the latest statuses updates.

7. Rating: +1

   

   What is a distribution channel?

   Distribution or sales channel is a third party web site selected by you as a destination for your media. It can be a microstock photography site like iStockphoto, a traditional stock photography agency like Alamy or simply your blog' FTP server, if you define it as a Custom Channel. Many sales channels are already integrated with LightBurner, and more will come soon.

8. Rating: +2

   

   How many images I can upload to LightBurner? Is there any daily/weekly/monthly limit?

   There is no upload limit. You can upload as many images as you want, anytime. Remember, that you have to distribute any uploaded image within 3 days. We'll send you a short-time notice on the planed removal, so you will have a chance to distribute your media before it will be too late.

9. Rating: +1

   

   I forgot my member name / password! What I do now?

   Go here and retrieve it. It's simple.

10. Rating: +2

    

    How I can cancel my account?

    Please contact us via online Contact form when logged in to your account and we'll assist you.

11. Rating: +1

    

    What web browsers work with LightBurner?

    Firefox 3 and higher, Safari 4, Internet Explorer 8 and Chrome 4. The most tested browser is Firefox, so if you have a choice prefer this one.

12. Rating: -1

    

    What formats can be uploaded?

    At the moment JPEGs only.

13. Rating: +5

    

    Can I upload EPS/vectors? Video? Audio?

    No, not yet. Register now (it's free!), and you will be notified when we complete the integration of these formats.

14. Rating: +2

    

    What is the best way to upload my files?

    Get FileZilla or a similar SFTP-capable client and upload to sftp.lightburner.com. Note S in SFTP - it is FTP-over-SSH secure transfer protocol, so get the client which supports SFTP. FileZilla is a proven one, free and open source, but there are many others that you can use.
    Login, than go to Upload page to get your SFTP credentials.

    If you need to upload just a couple of files uploading through the web would be an easy alternative.

15. Rating: +2

    

    Where is my data stored? Is my data secure with LightBurner?

    LightBurner is a cloud-computing system utilizing Amazon Web Services™. All data is fully secured and stored at Amazon Data Centers in the USA and is physically and electronically secured by Amazon. Read more about Amazon Security Policy. All LightBurner accounts include industry-strength 256-bit SSL encryption to keep your sensitive data safe and secure. All sensitive areas in your account, like Login, SignUp, My Account and other personal pages are accessed by HTTPS (SSL-256) only.

16. Rating: +1

    

    I am a developer and I am interested to develop an application which connects to LightBurner. How I do that?

    Contact us via contact form and we'll gladly assist you in receiving LightBurner API keys and the API documentation.

17. Rating: +1

    

    I represent a stock agency and I would like to see it among the supported sites. Is that possible?

    Of course it is possible. Please contact us and we'll gladly send you an easy-to-implement LightBurner API. For a qualified software engineer the API' implementation typically takes about a single work day. We'll support you on our side for any question or integration issue you will have, and will help your guys to test the final integration.

18. Rating: -1

    

    Why cant we store images online for longer? even an extra fee to do so, the problem with keeping the files online for only 3 days is that istock for example only allows approx 10 images every three days where as others allow many more uploads, so it would be very hard to keep track of whats uploaded and whats not....

    We plan introducing premium accounts that will offer some storage

19. Rating: +0

    

    What about manual edit of media links? Let's say I do already have a file on one agency. Now I'd like to distribute that image to several channels via Lightburner. Can I add the image that is already there to Lightburner for tracking stats? The same situation could be like I uploaded a file to 2 channels and after a month decide to upload the same file to 3 more new channels. Would Lightburner recognize that it is the same file? That would allow adding more channels in future... Thanks, Nikita

    It's a nice idea, thank you. We should see if we have some free development resources to implement it

20. Rating: -3

    

    How are model releases submitted with applicable images?

    At the moment LightBurner does not handle model releases, so they should be added on the agencies web sites

21. Rating: +0

    

    How to add chanel pixmoney?

    If you want to add a custom FTP channel simply go to channels, provide the name of the FTP server e.g.
    ftp.ppp.com
    and then enter your user credentials there.

22. Rating: +0

    

    I''m a newcomer from Germany testing your programm and I'm wondering, why you change a 300DPI-file into a 72 DPI-file. WHAT is the reason? Regards from Munich, Germany burnbenold

    You should look at the image dimensions and not into the DPIs. DPIs does not matter if number of the pixels remains the same, it's just a secondary field in file' metadata which can be filled in this way or that way.

23. Rating: +0

    

    You’re a real deep thinker. Thakns for sharing.

    Thank you :)

24. Rating: +0

    

    Why cant you display my earnings from shutterstock in the top-right of the screen?

    Ask Shutterstock this question. They decided to put a captcha on their accounts logins, so the software can not access your account.

25. Rating: +0

    

    How do we get paid if we sign up? Is there a direct deposit into a bank account? Some form of credit system that does not or can not be converted to a real, tangible monetary gain? Does my sold digital media retain my copyright, and my rights, or am I selling those as well? How does this all work?

    You should ask these questions at the microstock agencies you are working with, or plan to work with (and they do have good answers for that -you will be paid, no worries).
    Microstock photo sites sell your images, while Lightburner simply transfers your images to the stock photography agencies of your choice.

26. Rating: +0

    

    My e-mail address is big, and lightburner do not accept more than 32 characters in the FTP name.

    That's right. Currently there is a 32-characters limit. We will increase it soon

27. Rating: +0

    

    Are the images free for the public or businesses to use?

    It is a misunderstanding of our business. Lightburner does not sell your images, it just transfers them to the agencies of your choice. The sale of your images is governed by the policy of each agency.

28. Rating: +0

    

    After the 3 days how can I keep track of my photos? Are they gone from the system completely or does a thumbnail sized picture remain for me to see my uploads?

    Thumbnails and all metadata remain.

29. Rating: +0

    

    Why I can not upload my pictures to Crestock and PantherMedia?

    Crestock is switched to FTP, so you can upload there now. We'll do this soon for Pantehrmedia too

30. Rating: -4

    

    Why I can not connect to Fotolia and Cutcaster? I am register at this Agencys.

    Try now, we switched them to FTP

31. Rating: +0

    

    do i get any money if my pictures is sold and how do i get paid???

    It's a misunderstanding. We do not sell your pictures. We send them to the microstock agencies where you are registered as a seller / photographer. Any of them will be happy to answer your question.

32. Rating: +0

    

    how does the payment happen

    We do not pay since we do not sell your images. Microstock agencies do both.

33. Rating: +1

    

    Once I finish uploading the files - how long before they show up ready for final edit and distribution?

    It depends on the queue size, may take from a few minutes to a few hours. Typically all images are distributed in 24 hours max.

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