Dazzle Your Photos With These Shining Effects

Boost your standard iPhone photography skills by adding the bokeh effect to your everyday snaps. What is bokeh exactly? Bokeh is the blur that appears in a picture's out-of-focus area, and it usually tends to look like a series of reflective dots. It can take a bit of practice to achieve a bokeh effect in photos, but these handy iPhone apps add it instantly. Hoping to step up your photography skills?

Give one of these apps a try:

  1. LensLight ($3) — Simple and user-friendly, LensLight offers customizable lighting effects, as seen above. Add multicolored spotlights, glints, light leaks, or bokeh to boost your standard snaps.
  2. picfx ($2) — With 47 different effect and frame alternatives, 13 style choices, and an option to layer different looks, picfx offers a wide range of photography possibilites. Even better? An opacity slider allows you to control the strength of each effect.
  3. PictureShow ($2) — The options seem endless in this app: 45 preset styles, 23 frames, plus 10 light leak choices and 13 noise effects. There are five different lens choices. You can save a custom style for quick photo application, and messages can be added onto photos. Another bonus? A timer, so that you can take your time to pose or frame shots.
  4. iDarkroom ($1) — Thanks to 12 light leak and bokeh effects, this is a great option for those who love to play around with lighting. The app allows you to adjust saturation, contrast, and brightness, and 10 film paper effects offer a unique way to filter photos.
  5. Bokeh Booth ($1) — This basic, straightforward app is all about adding bokeh to your photos. It's best to do more complex editing with another app, then use Bokeh Booth to choose between hearts, stars, or basic circles for your bokeh shapes.

Do you have any tips for adding bokeh? Share them in the comments below!