The short answer
Why use Bokeh?
Phone photos often have a busy, sharp background. Faking a shallow focus by hand takes a mask, a blur, and painted highlights; here all three come from three sliders and a tap.
Focus X and Focus Y place the center of the sharp circle, 50% and 50% by default, and a tap on the preview moves it. Sharp radius sets its size from 5% to 90% of the shorter side, 35% to start. Amount, 0 to 100, controls the blur and how bright the light circles are. At 0 neither is added.
The 18 circles sit at the same spots on every photo and are drawn with a screen blend, so they show up on dark backgrounds and almost vanish on a white wall. If one lands on something odd, move the focus point a little; circles whose center falls inside the sharp area are left out.
Lens Blur gives the same background blur without the circles, which looks more natural on product and food shots. Tilt Shift keeps a horizontal band sharp for a miniature look. For a background you want to hide completely rather than soften, Blur Face can pixelate a drawn area.
Where Bokeh fits
Phone portraits
Fake the soft, sparkly background of a fast lens on a phone photo.
Holiday cards
Add soft light dots around a family photo for a festive card.
Couple photos
Blur a busy park behind two people and add a dreamy glow.
Start to finish
How to use Bokeh
- 01Tap Choose image and pick a portrait or close-up.
- 02Tap the subject on the preview to move the sharp circle, then set Sharp radius (35% by default) and Amount.
- 03Tap Apply changes, check where the light circles landed, then tap Download result.
What to expect from Bokeh
| Check | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Supported input | JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, SVG and browser-supported AVIF images |
| Main controls | Blur amount, focus point, and sharp-area size |
| Output | A PNG image with the blur applied |
| Working limit | 50 MB and 50 megapixels per image |
Bokeh tips
- The light circles show up on dark backgrounds and fade on white ones.
- Move the focus slightly if a circle lands on something awkward.
- Amount 0 adds neither blur nor circles.
- Night shots with a dark background suit the pastel circles most.
Bokeh FAQ
Something missing? Ask us.
Do the light circles come from the lights in my photo?
How is Bokeh different from Lens Blur?
Does Bokeh upload my file?
Is Bokeh free to use?
Why did Bokeh fail or look wrong?
Related tools
More in Blur & Focus.