Add a light leak to a photo

A light leak is stray light that reached the film, so it should only ever add light. Every leak here opens on Screen, where black counts as nothing — the dark of the tile disappears and only the glow reaches your photo.

This stage leads with the leak family because that is the whole job; grain, dust and the rest are one tap away under “Every family”.

1. 1Open the photo. It stays in this tab.
2. 2Pick a leak. Each lands across the whole frame on Screen.
3. 3Tint it. The Hue control on the Blend tab turns a warm leak cool, or anything between.
4. 4Pull it back. A leak at full strength looks like a mistake; 40–80% looks like film.
5. 5Save. The leak is drawn again at the saved size.

Leaks

Nine, drawn from gradients.

Opens

Screen, at the leak's own strength.

Controls

Hue, strength, any of sixteen modes, mask and fade.

Combine

Up to twelve layers — a leak and grain together is the usual film look.

Saving

PNG, JPG or WebP.

• Screen over a very bright photo has little room to add light; try a smaller leak or a corner burn.
• These are drawn gradients, not scans of real film.
• Flip or turn a leak with the handles to move its light to another edge.

Which mode does a leak open on, and why?

Screen. It treats black as nothing and only lightens, so the dark part of the leak vanishes and the light spills over the photo — which is how stray light behaves on film.

Is the texture a downloaded image?

No. Each leak is a set of gradients drawn by code in this tab. There is no stock file and nothing to licence.

Will it look the same at full size?

Yes. The leak is drawn again at the size of the saved file rather than enlarged from the preview.

How do I get an 80s film look?

A warm edge wash or corner burn at 60–80%, with medium grain on top at 35% — two layers, both drawn here.

• Add film grainFine, medium, pushed and silver grain on Overlay, with a size control, at the same pattern at any size.
• Vintage overlayDust, scratches, film burn, paper, edge fade and sepia, each on the mode that adds only its own age.
• Add a texture overlayOpens the drawn-texture shelf first: light leaks and film grain, with hue, strength and blend beside the stage.
• Using leaks and grainWhy a leak at full strength looks like a mistake, and how texture layers stack into a film look.