Create and Apply BOKEH Overlays in Photoshop | 90-Second Tip
63K views 2,389 likes 267 comments
Your choices stick across every tutorial on this device.
Screen is the bokeh overlay blend mode that turns a blurred photo of lights into a glow on top of a portrait.
This is the quick version. It condenses the full tutorial, Create and Apply Bokeh Overlays in Photoshop, which teaches the same Field Blur method at a slower pace. That longer post also adds a sun flare, a color tone, eye sharpening and film grain.
It works because Screen hides dark pixels and keeps bright ones, so a dark photo with a few small lights becomes an overlay with no masking at all.
It is for anyone who would rather make an overlay in a minute than buy one.
By the end you will build the bokeh with Field Blur, blend it with Screen, and tune it with Levels and Opacity. The video was recorded in Photoshop CC 2018, and the steps are unchanged in the latest version.
Key Takeaways
- Screen hides dark pixels and reveals bright ones, so the dark parts of the overlay vanish without a layer mask.
- The source photo matters more than the sliders. Pick one without too many bright areas.
- In Field Blur, Light Bokeh picks which bright spots become bokeh and the Blur slider sets their size.
- A Levels adjustment on the bokeh layer controls how hard it blends. Opacity controls how much shows.
Table of contents
What You Will Learn
- How to turn the bright spots of a photo into bokeh with Field Blur
- Why the Screen blend mode drops the dark areas without a mask
- How to control the strength of the overlay with Levels and Opacity
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop CC 2018 or the latest version
- A portrait to apply the overlay to
- A second photo with a few bright lights and mostly dark areas, such as a night scene
Step 1: Build the Bokeh with Field Blur
Start with a document that holds two layers: the portrait, and a night photo on top of it. Any photo works as the source as long as it does not have too many bright areas. The small lights in a night scene are ideal.
With the night photo selected, go to Filter > Blur Gallery > Field Blur. The Blur Gallery opens in its own workspace with an Effects tab under the Blur Tools panel.
Open the Effects tab and make sure Bokeh is checked. Then raise Light Bokeh. The brightest areas of the photo get even brighter, and those spots are what will become the bokeh.
Now increase the Blur slider. The blur is what reveals the bokeh. A higher value gives you a larger blur and larger bokeh circles.
| Effects slider | What it does |
|---|---|
| Light Bokeh | Brightens the lightest areas and decides which spots become bokeh |
| Bokeh Color | Adds more vivid color to lightened areas that are not blown out to white |
| Light Range | Sets the range of tones the two sliders above affect |
Tip: Bokeh Color only works on lights that still hold some color. If your bokeh stays plain white no matter how far you push it, the lights in the source photo were already blown out.
Press OK when the bokeh looks right.
Step 2: Set the Bokeh Overlay Blend Mode to Screen
Back in the Layers panel, change the blend mode of the bokeh layer from Normal to Screen. The menu sits at the top left of the panel.
Screen hides dark colors and reveals bright ones. Because the night photo is mostly dark with a few bright spots, the dark areas drop out and only the bokeh shows over the portrait.
That is why this bokeh overlay blend mode needs no layer mask. The blend mode does the cutting for you.
If you want to know how Screen and the other modes work, watch the Blending Modes Crash Course.
Step 3: Control the Bokeh Overlay with Levels
If the bokeh blends too hard or too softly, do not change the blend mode. Use a Levels adjustment to raise or lower the luminosity of the bokeh layer instead.
Brighter bokeh shows more through Screen and darker bokeh shows less. That is how Levels changes the blend.
Note: Make sure the Levels adjustment changes only the bokeh layer, not the portrait underneath it.
If the overlay is still too strong, lower the layer’s Opacity.
Step 4: Duplicate and Move the Overlay
One overlay is rarely enough. Press Ctrl J (Windows) or Command J (macOS) to duplicate the bokeh layer, then move the copy to a different spot on the portrait.
You can also scale or transform the copy so the circles come in more than one size. Mixed sizes read as real out-of-focus lights instead of a repeated pattern.
This tip builds the overlay from a photo you already have. If you have no night photo to work from, the newer full-length tutorial, Custom Bokeh Overlays in Photoshop, builds the bokeh from scratch with Add Noise and Threshold instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use Screen. It hides the dark pixels of the overlay and keeps the bright ones, so the lights show over your photo and the black background disappears. You do not need a layer mask.
The dark areas of the bokeh layer are not dark enough for Screen to hide them fully. Add a Levels adjustment to the bokeh layer and lower its luminosity until the haze goes away. Lower the Opacity if it is still too strong.
Any photo that does not have too many bright areas. A night scene with small points of light is ideal, because Field Blur turns only the brightest spots into bokeh and Screen drops the rest.
Yes. Duplicate the bokeh layer with Ctrl J on Windows or Command J on macOS, move the copy, and scale or transform it so the circles vary in size. Each copy keeps the Screen blend mode.
Your Own Bokeh Overlays in 90 Seconds
Build the bokeh with Field Blur, set the bokeh overlay blend mode to Screen, and tune it with Levels. That is the whole technique.
Some people pay for overlay packs. Now you can make your own from any night photo.
Watch the 90-second video above to see it happen in real time, and comment on the video with how you plan to use it.
Selections and Masking Mastery
Complete course includes 2.5 hours of step-by-step lessons, 6 structured modules, downloadable practice files, and custom Photoshop brushes. Everything you need to master selections and masks in one place.
Keep going
Next, build bokeh with no source photo at all in custom bokeh overlays in Photoshop.
Related Links
Final Image
Drag the slider to see before and after
Wow!! Awesome!!
You always have great tutorials. The Bokeh one is perfect.
This is SUPER helpful! Thanks