Making Light Leaks in Lightroom [With Free Brush Download]

There's something special about taking a picture on film. That said, film also lent itself to a lot of error: a botched exposure, missed focus and light leaks could all serve to ruin an otherwise lovely image. There are few things more frustrating then getting a roll back from the lab with an error note on the envelope. Occasionally the results were a novelty, perhaps adding interest to an otherwise boring image but all too often light leak was nothing but a bother. So why would anyone want to replicate it in Lightroom?

Seeing that you went ahead and clicked through to read the remainder of this post you, like I, are interested in making light leak in Lightroom. In a bout of boredom the other day, I was wondering just how to go about doing so but found little through the usual channels (Google, YouTube, Fstoppers), only finding preset packs which sold for $50+ which had little room for customization. So I went the DIY route. Looking at several analog photos with some nasty light leak, I made two brushes which can be layered to replicate the defect in a precise, ascetically pleasing way.

For this tutorial we're going to be making two brushes in Lightroom, I'll be using v.5.4 but this should be forward and backward compatible (the only major difference is the lack of radial filters in earlier versions).

The first brush will be dark and colorful and will be used for the exterior edges of the light leak.

Brush 1:

• Temp 100
• Tint 100
• Exposure 1.00
• Contrast +/- 100
• Highlights -100
• Shadows 100
• Saturation to 100
• Color set to H 0º, 75%

The second brush is lighter and has no color. It will be used for the interior of the leak.

Brush 2:

• Exposure +1.50
• Contrast +/-100
• Highlights -100
• Shadows 100

You can download these two brushes here if you'd like. (They'll go into your Local Adjustments Presets folder).

Once you have your brushes made, you can play around with different combinations of shape, opacity, exposure, and contrast — each image will be a little different.

If you're using Lightroom 5 or newer you have three options for application: gradient filter, radial filter, or brushes. Each will produce different results. Below are some ideas for application patterns of your light leaks. Note the difference in color, shape, and intensity.

Below are some quick sample edits with light leak.

This is made with a combination of gradient and radial filters.

This is made with a combination of gradient filters and brushes.

If you give this tutorial a shot I'd love to see what you make in the comments below.

DOWNLOAD THE BRUSHES USED IN THIS TUTORIAL