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Home / Photo Editing / Why the Exciting New Luminar AI Portrait Bokeh AI Tool Will Knock Your Socks Off

portrait bokeh AI featured 1200px

Why the Exciting New Luminar AI Portrait Bokeh AI Tool Will Knock Your Socks Off

July 29, 2021 by Darlene Hildebrandt

Updated: November 29, 2025

This was a big week for Skylum with the release of their new Luminar AI Portrait Bokeh AI tool. I did an overview of the new tool and give you my thoughts in this video tutorial.

HINT: In case you didn’t already get this, I was blown away by and really impressed with the Portrait Bokeh AI tool!

shutter speed 16

Create stunning bokeh backgrounds without expensive lenses

There are several huge benefits of this tool, and if you aren’t already using Luminar AI, this might just be the tipping point for you. In my opinion, this tool alone is worth the price of the software!

Here’s an example before and after showing the Portrait Bokeh AI applied.

Luminar ai portrait bokeh ai 02a before
Before Portrait Bokeh AI.
Luminar ai portrait bokeh ai 02b after
After Portrait Bokeh AI was applied in Luminar AI.

Here are some of the highlights and benefits of Portrait Bokeh AI:

  • Automatic masking of the subject – the program does ALL the heavy-liftin for you on this!
  • Plus the ability to see and edit the mask yourself if necessary.
  • Full control of how much blur is applied to the background.
  • Through the magic of depth-mapping you can also bring the bokeh closer to or farther away from the subject.
  • You can even darken or lighten the background with ONE SLIDER!
  • Ability to adjust the color temperature and warm up or cool down the background
Luminar ai portrait bokeh ai auto mask
This was the automatic mask generated by Luminar AI – it’s almost perfect! Notice the gaps between the arms and the body and how well it handles hiar!
Luminar ai portrait bokeh ai tool panel
This is what you’ll see on the new Portrait Bokeh AI tool panel.

See Portrait Bokeh AI in action

Okay enough of just talking about its virtues, it’s time for you to see the new Luminar AI Portrait Bokeh AI tool in action. Watch the video tutorial now.

So what did you think? Tell me in the comment area below if you are as impressed as I am?!

Here are a few more before and after images.

Luminar ai portrait bokeh ai 01a before
Luminar ai portrait bokeh ai 01b after
Watch the video to see me create this one!
Luminar ai portrait bokeh ai 04a before
Luminar ai portrait bokeh ai 04b after
This one blew me away! It recognized the subject and background even though they are in a mirror!
Luminar ai portrait bokeh ai 03a before
Before – here I’ve done just basic edits on an already good image.
Luminar ai portrait bokeh ai 03b after
After Luminar AI Sky Replacement
Luminar ai portrait bokeh ai 03c after
After Portrait Bokeh AI was applied.

AI Photo Editing: Read my review of Luminar Neo, the next generation photo editing using AI. It’s an industry game changer. If you’ve already got it, enrolling in my Luminar Neo course should be able to get you up and editing in days instead of weeks. Check it out.

Luminar AI Update 4 – What’s new?

If you already own Luminar AI this is a free update for you to get the Portrait Bokeh AI tool as well as a few other great improvements to the software. If you want to see more about what’s new watch this video, then go update your copy of Luminar AI.

Besides the major addition of the Portrait Bokeh AI tool, they’ve also made some improvements to the Texture and Sky AI tools. Make sure you watch the video above to learn more about those.


In addition to all of this great stuff, I’m also really excited to tell you about two new things I’ve been working on. One is available now, the other is coming soon!

Fabulous Faces Portrait Templates

If you are already a Luminar AI user, I’ve created a special set of portrait templates called Fabulous Faces. They are now in the Skylum Marketplace, CLICK HERE to get more information or to grab the set. At only $19 USD it’s a great value even if I do say so myself!

I put a lot of work into creating the set and had a lot of fun with it as well. I tried to create templates that would work well on images of people, but I’ve also applied them to street photography and other kinds of images too.

Darlene antique touch 1 750px
Darlene antique touch 2 750px
Antique Touch
Darlene bokeh bliss 1 750px
Darlene bokeh bliss 2 750px
Bokeh Bliss
Darlene ghoulish grunge 1 750px
Off-camera flash
Darlene ghoulish grunge 2 750px
Ghoulish Grunge
Darlene golden light 1a 750px
Darlene golden light 1b 750px
Golden Light
Darlene low key portrait 1 750px
Darlene low key portrait 2 750px
Low Key Portrait
Darlene sunset magic 1 750px
Darlene sunset magic 2 750px
Sunset Magic

This is just a quick overview of six of the 12 templates in the collection.

  • Antique Touch – add a old world look and feel to your images
  • Bokeh Bliss – includes a custom bokeh overlay
  • Ghoulish Grunge – add a yellow/blue cross-processed grungy look to your image
  • Golden Light – bathe your subject in the sun’s golden glow
  • Low Key Potrait – make your image dark and moody
  • Sunset Magic – includes a custom sky image and sky replacement

Ultimate Bokeh Magic

Transform flat, lifeless photos into dreamy, luminous images with the Ultimate Bokeh Overlay Pack, curated for photographers who want their work to look like it belongs in a magazine, not a memory card.​

It includes:

  • 50 high-resolution bokeh overlays in one value-packed bundle for maximum creative flexibility.
  • All images from Bokeh Overlay Pack 1 and Pack 2 combined into a single collection.​
  • An extra set of bonus overlays, giving you more colors, sizes, and styles to experiment with.​
  • Warm and cool tones so you can match any portrait, cityscape, or night scene.​
  • Compatible with Photoshop, Luminar Neo, ON1 Photo RAW, Elements, Affinity, and any software that supports layers or overlays.
  • Perfect for portraits, lifestyle, and product shots that need instant atmosphere and sparkle.

Turn “almost” photos into showstoppers with a few clicks and give every frame the glow your clients think only pros can afford.

Bokeh overlay texture pack for use with photo editing software for a creative look

Ultimate Bokeh Overlay Pack

USD$ 39

Get Your Creativity On
2 icon
2 icon with bokeh overlays Darlene3
B 2 logo
B 2 bokeh overlays Darlene 5
Bikes on road
Bikes on road bokeh overlays Darlene 4
Dragonfly on twig
Dragonfly on twig bokeh overlays Darlene 11
Jamacan boat silhoutte
Jamacan boat silhoutte bokeh overlays Darlene 7
Jet Ski
Jet Ski with bokeh overlays Darlene 2

Excited to see them all? Me too! They’re available now in the DPM store.

So if you have updated your Luminar AI, I’d love to see an image you create with the new Portrait Bokeh AI tool. Please share in the comment area below.

If you don’t already own Luminar AI, now might be the time to hop on board this train! You can get Luminar AI HERE, and make sure you use my discount code to gets $10 USD off when you buy it.

Cheers,

Darlene signature black

About Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene Hildebrandt, Master of Photographic Arts (MPA), is a Canadian photography educator and the founder of Digital Photo Mentor. She holds Canada's highest professional photography designation from Professional Photographers of Canada, served as Managing Editor of Digital Photography School, and represented Canada on Team Canada at the 2025 World Photographic Cup. With over 35 years of experience, from darkroom film retouching to modern digital editing, more than 17,000 students have learned to edit with confidence through her structured online courses in Luminar Neo and Lightroom Classic and the Digital Photo Mentor Community.

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