Add cool light leaks for the retro look!

Use our free light leak effects to style up your shots with a creative filmic feel from yesteryear in Photoshop CC

- Jon Adams

Back in the days of film, if you opened your camera before winding the roll back into the canister – or, even worse, if your camera’s film chamber wasn’t light-tight – you’d get a curious, but rather attractive effect. Accidentally exposing the film’s edges to daylight would fog the emulsion with a fiery, colourful glow that had a real charm!

Here I’m going to recreate this effect so you can apply it to any image. When you download this issue’s disc, you’ll find 32 great light-leak effects, all custom-made to let you mix up a cool retro look. It works effectively with all kinds of different subjects, but it’s particularly good for imbuing a photo with a nostalgic feel.

About your Light Leak FX pack

Our 32 Light Leak FX files offer different variations of light leaks, so you can pick the version that works most effectively with your shot. 16 of them are horizontal, and 16 are vertical, so you can pick one from the set that matches the orientation of your image.

1 Choose your light leak