Prism Lens effect

A bulging screen whose edges melt into rainbow fog while the middle stays sharp.

Made with the Ghost Lens filterWorks in

Prism lens effect on a portrait of a laughing woman with pink curly hair, made with the Ghost Lens filter in Filter Archive (Classic preset)

BeforeAfter

Ghost Lens swells the middle of your picture toward you and smears the edges outward into rainbow ghosts, like shooting through a prism or a cheap wide lens. The centre stays sharp, so the subject holds while everything around it dissolves.

5presets
10settings
3apps

Same effect, different presets.

8 photos, each with its own preset. Try it on yours

Prism lens effect on a portrait of a woman in headphones holding a CD, made with the Ghost Lens filter in Filter Archive (Melted preset) — Melted

Prism lens effect on a portrait of a person with goggles looking up, made with the Ghost Lens filter in Filter Archive (Monochrome Ghost preset) — Monochrome Ghost

Prism lens effect on a portrait of a woman in sunglasses against a blue sky, made with the Ghost Lens filter in Filter Archive (Tunnel preset) — Tunnel

Prism lens effect on a portrait of a woman with a nose strip on a white background, made with the Ghost Lens filter in Filter Archive (Off Centre preset) — Off Centre

Prism lens effect on a portrait of a woman with red hair in chrome sunglasses, made with the Ghost Lens filter in Filter Archive (Classic preset) — Classic

Prism lens effect on a portrait of a woman with silver chains on a grey background, made with the Ghost Lens filter in Filter Archive (Melted preset) — Melted

Prism lens effect on a portrait of a woman in white sunglasses with a lollipop, made with the Ghost Lens filter in Filter Archive (Tunnel preset) — Tunnel

Use the prism lens effect in Photoshop, Affinity or Figma.

One licence covers all three: $9.99 a month or $59.99 once. See pricing

Photoshop

Open Filter Archive from the Plugins menu, pick Ghost Lens and press Apply. The result lands on a new layer above your original.

Mac & Windows · Photoshop 2024+

Affinity

Choose Filters, Plugins, Filter Archive on a pixel layer, pick Ghost Lens and apply it to that layer.

Mac & Windows · Affinity 3

Figma

Select an image, frame or shape, run Filter Archive and apply Ghost Lens as a new layer or in place.

Figma Community

Settings worth touching.

BulgeLens: Positive bulges the picture toward you, negative pinches it in. The corners stay pinned.
GhostSmear: How far the edges smear outward past themselves.
Colour SplitSmear: How much the smear separates into rainbow fringes. At zero it is a plain blur.

Plus 7 more in the panel, all editable after you pick a preset.

Prism Lens Effect questions.

What is a prism lens effect?

A prism lens effect copies the look of shooting through a prism or crystal held in front of the lens: rainbow-coloured, smeared reflections around the edges of the frame with a clear centre.

How do I make a prism lens effect in Photoshop?

Open Filter Archive from the Plugins menu and choose Ghost Lens. Start from a preset such as Classic or Melted, adjust the settings while the preview updates, then press Apply. The result goes on a new layer and your original stays untouched.

Can I use it in Affinity or Figma?

Yes. The same Ghost Lens filter runs in Affinity 3 on Mac and Windows, from Filters, then Plugins, then Filter Archive on a pixel layer, and in Figma on an image, frame or shape. One licence covers Photoshop, Affinity and Figma.

Which presets come with Ghost Lens?

5 presets: Classic, Melted, Monochrome Ghost, Tunnel and Off Centre. Every setting stays editable after you pick one, and you can save a stack of filters to use again.

Can I change the colours?

Ghost Lens keeps the colours of the picture you run it on. To recolour the result, stack it with a filter that has its own palette, such as Thermal or Bitmap, in the same panel.