AI Relight

Adjust golden-hour warmth, soft studio light, or shadow visibility while keeping the subject in place.

Upload a photo for the True Golden-Hour Relight effect

How to change the lighting in a photo with AI relight

AI relight adjusts the light in a photo without moving the subject. Choose True Golden-Hour Relight, Studio Softbox, Rembrandt Lighting or Backlight Rescue, set the intensity and apply it. Face, pose and scene geometry stay where they are, because the tool changes brightness and color rather than redrawing the picture. It reshapes light that is already there; it cannot remove the existing light or invent new shadows.

Relight a photo with golden-hour or studio light

Upload a photo, open the Lighting tab and pick a Treatment. True Golden-Hour Relight adds warm, low evening light from one side, with cooler tones on surfaces facing away. Studio Softbox reshapes the exposure and contrast curve for a soft studio-light look. Rembrandt Lighting shifts directional light, falloff and highlight placement and blends the result with the original exposure. Intensity runs from Subtle to Strong and starts at 40 percent.

  1. Upload a sharp photo; a softly or evenly lit one gives the cleanest base.
  2. Choose a Treatment in the Lighting tab.
  3. Set Intensity and keep it modest for the first run.
  4. Select Apply with the treatment name and wait.
  5. Select See result, compare it with your original, then download.

Rescue a backlit photo or a dark subject

Backlight Rescue is aimed at a dark subject in front of a bright window or sky. It recovers more readable tone in the shadows while protecting areas that were already well exposed, so it behaves like a careful exposure repair rather than a new light source. For a very dark face, raise Intensity gradually and watch the bright areas for lost detail.

Know what relighting cannot do

Relighting works from the tones already in the photo, and the golden-hour treatment estimates relative depth from a single picture. It does not rebuild 3D geometry, remove the light that is already there, or add new cast shadows, rim light or reflections. Strong directional light, glass, mirrors, smoke and fine hair can put the warm or cool tone on the wrong surface, and lowering Intensity helps but cannot fix the original lighting.

Pair relighting with other fixes

A flat gray sky behind a warmly lit subject looks mismatched, so swap in a sunset or blue sky first. For a harsh party look instead of soft light, add a direct flash finish. Noise and softness are separate from light and need a one-click enhance.

Before you download the relit photo

  • Compare faces and skin tones with your original at full size.
  • Look for warm or cool tone landing on the wrong surface, such as glass, mirrors or hair.
  • Changing the Treatment keeps your upload, but each change needs another Apply.

A dull gray sky behind the subject can be swapped for sunset or blue sky; for a punchy party-camera look instead of soft light, add a direct-flash finish.

Remaining noise or softness can be reduced with one enhance pass, and posture or shoulder changes need a bounded body adjustment.

What you can do with AI Relight

Review the main capabilities before you begin.

  • Apply warm golden-hour lighting
  • Try softbox and directional light
  • Recover shadow detail without redrawing the subject

Settings reference

Available controls for AI Relight.

Lighting

TreatmentDropdown
Choose a lighting treatment with a preset light direction.Options: True Golden-Hour RelightStudio SoftboxRembrandt LightingBacklight Rescue
IntensitySliderRange: 0–100% · Default: 40%
Adjust the strength before applying the selected treatment.
Free to use · No signup required · Without watermarkUploads are encrypted in transitRemoved under our retention policy

Frequently Asked Questions

Watch each transformation land

Every photo crosses the slash untouched and comes out the other side finished.