Bokeh Backgrounds and Light Textures

What is in this collection

Classic fairy-light bokeh comes in warm gold on black, silver-white on dove grey, champagne on warm ivory, and blush and rose gold on dusty mauve. Christmas looks include multicolour Christmas light bokeh, rows of retro glass Christmas bulbs, red and gold festive bokeh and emerald and gold holiday bokeh. String light designs show rows of draped string lights on a charcoal wall, a fairy-light curtain on vertical strands, tangled copper-wire fairy lights and festoon bulbs over dusky garden green. For colour and mood there is pink and blue neon glow, amber and teal night city bokeh, pastel city lights, icy blue winter bokeh, rainbow bokeh, sunlit leaf bokeh, heart-shaped pink and red bokeh and star-shaped gold bokeh on midnight blue. Fairy lights behind red velvet, ivory voile, a laurel hedge and frosted glass are here too.

Christmas lights and string lights backgrounds

For Christmas cards and holiday templates, the multicolour Christmas light bokeh is the most nostalgic, the retro glass bulbs suit vintage-style cards, and the red and gold or emerald and gold bokeh match traditional colour schemes. A string lights background is sharper: the draped rows on charcoal and the fairy-light curtain show the bulbs and wires, so they read as a real party wall behind a cut-out subject, while the festoon bulbs over greenery suit garden weddings and summer parties. For a neon lights background, the pink and blue glow and the amber and teal city bokeh fit prom, nightclub and birthday nights. For stars and night skies rather than lights, see night sky backgrounds.

Tips for using these backgrounds

• Add a glow to the subject. Almost every bokeh background is lit by its own glow; the sunlit leaf bokeh, lit from the right, is the exception. Use a soft key light plus a warm rim light from behind, or a cool one for icy blue and silver bokeh.
• Get the depth right. Real bokeh comes from a shallow depth of field, so the background should look softer than your subject. On the string lights, the copper-wire lights and the retro bulbs, the front bulbs are sharp; add a slight blur if they compete with a crisp subject.
• Use the dark grounds for text. Gold on black, star-shaped gold on midnight blue and the multicolour Christmas bokeh leave dark space for white or gold lettering in 2 x 6 strips and 4 x 6 prints. On the light grounds, use deep colours for text.

The bokeh is AI-generated, not shot through a real lens, but it is soft enough to sit behind a sharp subject. For Christmas scenes with a floor, see Christmas digital backdrops.