How to Create a Custom Overlay

Updated Today · 4 min read

A photo overlay is a PNG image with a transparent background that sits on top of guest photos in your layout. It creates the visual frame, border, or branded graphic that guests see on their final photo — corporate logos, seasonal themes, sponsor frames, event branding, and more.

Every photo your booth produces is a combination of the guest's captured image and an overlay applied in the Layout Builder. Getting your overlay right is one of the highest-impact things you can do for a polished, client-ready result.

Specs to Know Before You Start

All overlays must be PNG files with a transparent background — JPEG files do not support transparency and will produce a white or solid fill instead of a clean overlay. For exact dimensions, see Custom Assets Specifications.

The standard dimensions for FMX for Windows:

Portrait layout: 1200 × 1800 px
Landscape layout: 1800 × 1200 px

Design your overlay at exactly these dimensions so it aligns perfectly with the guest photo in the layout.

Option 1: Use Foto Master's Overlay Library (Fastest)

You do not need to start from scratch. Foto Master maintains a growing library of professionally designed overlays and full presets organized by theme — holidays, corporate events, weddings, sports, AI experiences, and more.

To browse and load one:

Open your event in Foto Master Cloud
Go to the Layout Builder
Click Load Preset and filter by theme or event type
Load the preset — the overlay, layout, and workflow are applied instantly

From there, customise it to fit your client:

Replace or add a logo image element
Update the event name or date as a text element
Adjust colors by swapping the overlay PNG for a recolored version
Add or remove elements from the layout canvas

Tip: Starting from a Foto Master preset is faster than building from scratch and guarantees correct dimensions and alignment. Even if the preset is 80% right, it's much quicker to adjust than to start from a blank canvas.

Option 2: Use the AI Overlay Creator (Built Into Cloud)

The Layout Builder in Foto Master Cloud has a built-in AI overlay generator. Describe the overlay you want in plain language and the AI builds it for you.

Open your event's Layout Builder in Foto Master Cloud
Click the AI Layout Creator button
Describe what you want — for example: "Elegant gold frame with floral corners, event name at the bottom, transparent center"
The AI generates the layout and overlay
Refine and save

This is ideal for one-off event designs where you need something fast and custom without opening design software.

Option 3: Design Your Own

For full creative control, design the overlay in a tool of your choice and export as PNG with transparency.

Recommended tools

Tool	Best for	Cost
Canva	Quick branded designs, easy for non-designers. Use the Frame and Overlay templates. Export as PNG with transparent background.	Free / Pro
Adobe Photoshop	Professional-grade overlays with precise layer control, masks, and effects	Paid
Adobe Illustrator	Vector-based overlays that scale perfectly — ideal for logo-heavy designs	Paid
Photopea	Free browser-based Photoshop alternative. Supports PSD files and transparent PNG export	Free
Figma	Collaborative design — great for teams. Export frames as PNG with transparency	Free / Pro

Using AI tools for creative elements

AI image generators (Midjourney, DALL-E, Adobe Firefly, Stable Diffusion) are excellent for generating decorative elements — illustrated corners, themed graphics, backgrounds, patterns — that you then composite into your overlay in Photoshop or Photopea. They work best as a source of creative assets rather than producing a ready-to-use overlay on their own.

Overlay Design Examples

Event type	Overlay idea
Corporate event	Company logo top-center, event name and date at the bottom, subtle color-matched border
Wedding	Floral corners, couple's names and date, soft white or gold frame
Holiday party	Snowflake or holly corners, festive border, seasonal color palette
Sports activation	Team colors, jersey number or team name, bold bottom banner
Brand activation	Sponsor logo, product visual in corner, hashtag or call-to-action at bottom
AI experience	Minimal or frameless — let the AI-generated image speak for itself

Uploading and Applying Your Overlay

In Foto Master Cloud, go to Assets and upload your PNG file
Open your event's Layout Builder
Add an Image element and select your uploaded overlay
Set it to fill the full canvas and place it on the top layer so it overlays the photo
Save the layout — it will sync to FMX on the next event sync

Note: The overlay sits on top of the captured photo in the layer order. Make sure the overlay layer is above the Camera element in the Layers panel, and that the center of the overlay is transparent so the guest's photo shows through.