Is the flash very bright?

There is a brief white flash at the strike. You can soften it by editing the prompt.

Does it work indoors?

It is built for outdoor scenes with sky. Indoors the model has to invent a storm.

Can I use a different model, or make it longer?

Yes. Five seconds on MiniMax H3 is the default; before you generate you can set up to 15 seconds or 2K on H3, or switch to another model listed for this effect in Studio, such as Wan 3.0 for up to 30 seconds. The Generate button shows the updated price first. Our samples were made on MiniMax H3, so other models may interpret the prompt a little differently.

Will it change what's in my photo?

No. The effect only adds motion, light and atmosphere; everyone in the photo stays exactly as they appear in it. The default model doesn't filter photos. Some models you can switch to in Studio apply their own content filters and may turn a photo down.

Is my result private?

Yes. Your upload and the finished clip stay private to your account and never appear on a public page.

Each effect defaults to a five-second clip priced in US dollars on the Generate button. Before you run it, you can switch to a different model, adjust the length, or change the resolution in Studio, and the price on the Generate button updates to match. An ordinary failed or expired run normally releases the reserved amount. For a content refusal, follow the selected model’s billing policy.

Will this effect change how the person in my photo looks?

Your photo anchors the subject; the effect adds the motion and look described in its prompt. Check the face, hands and clothing in the result. If a gesture distorts them, try a clearer crop or a simpler movement.

Can I upload a photo of someone else?

Only one you have the right to use, and never to make intimate content of a real person without their documented consent. The content policy has the full rule.

Lightning Storm AI Video Effect

Name: Lightning Storm — Sample 2
Uploaded: 2026-10-03
Duration: 5 s
Description: Dark clouds boil overhead and a blinding bolt strikes just behind your subject, followed by more forking lightning across the sky.

Styles

After Dark

Laser Room

Color Smoke

Silk Drop

Petal Storm

Slow Shutter

Candlelight

Behind the Hair

Call Me

Champagne Toast

Darkroom Red

Doorway Lean

Eyes on You

Join Me

Late-Night Dance

Club Strobe

Romance

Kiss

Camera moves

Tiny Planet

Transform

Molten Gold

Fashion

Mirror Glance

Atmosphere

Lace Shadows

Lightning Storm

Motion

Groove

Fun

Meltdown

Product

Ingredients Burst

Film looks

Film Burn

Video templates

The Glance Back

Candles Come Alive

Silk Drift

Neon After Hours

Sway Under the Lamp

Mirror Moment

Morning Light

Passing Headlights

Whisper Session

Slow Push-In

Half Orbit

Drone Rise

This effect writes the prompt for you. Add one image.

We never filter your prompt.

Back to the studio

Dark clouds boil overhead and a blinding bolt strikes just behind your subject, followed by more forking lightning across the sky.

MiniMax H3

Model: MiniMax H3
Length: 5 s
Resolution: 768p
Per run: $0.185
Type: Atmosphere
Also runs on: Seedance 2.0 Fast, Kling 3.0, Seedance 2.0, Wan 3.0, Vidu Q3 Turbo, MiniMax H3 Max, Kling 2.5 Turbo, Wan 2.6 Flash, Seedance 2.0 Mini

What this effect sends

This is the full prompt, word for word. Copy it, or open it in the generator and change anything you like.

Dark storm clouds boil overhead. A blinding bolt of lightning strikes the ground a few meters behind the person, blasting up sparks and dirt and flashing the whole frame white for an instant. As the light returns, more bolts fork across the sky behind them while the wind whips their hair and they stare into the lens. The person stays exactly as they appear in the photo.

Customize in the generator

Pictures that work best

Visible sky behind the person gives the clouds room to build.
Open ground lets the strike throw up sparks and dirt.
Keep the person looking at the lens for a steady focal point.
If the white flash is too harsh, ask for a softer flash in the prompt.

Models this effect runs on

The same prompt on different models. Pick by look and by price.

MiniMax H3$0.185 per run
5 s · 768p
Seedance 2.0 Fast$0.484 per run
5 s · 720p
Kling 3.0$0.336 per run
5 s · 720p
Seedance 2.0$0.76 per run
5 s · 720p
Wan 3.0$0.45 per run
5 s · 720p
Vidu Q3 Turbo$0.33 per run
5 s · 720p
MiniMax H3 Max$0.4 per run
5 s · 768p
Kling 2.5 Turbo$0.28 per run
5 s
Wan 2.6 Flash$0.113 per run
5 s · 720p
Seedance 2.0 Mini$0.265 per run
5 s · 720p

How it works

01
Add one photo
Choose the photo to match the example: include both people for a shared gesture, and keep the face and any hands involved clearly visible. Upload your own photo or start with a Lightning Storm sample.
02
Check the price
Lightning Storm defaults to a 5-second clip for $0.185. Swap the model or change the length and resolution before you run — the price on the button updates to match, and that's the whole cost of the clip.
03
Generate
Your Lightning Storm clip renders in the background, lands in History and is never published.

Do the move yourself

Lightning Storm keeps one version of this shot. To give Lightning Storm your own motion or ending, write it yourself in Image to Video, starting from the prompt above.

Open Image to Video

What it does to your photo

Dark storm clouds boil overhead. A blinding bolt of lightning strikes the ground a few meters behind the person, blasting up sparks and dirt and flashing the whole frame white for an instant. As the light returns, more bolts fork across the sky behind them while the wind whips their hair and they stare into the lens.

In our test runs on MiniMax H3, a silver-haired older woman in a long red trench coat standing on open grassland under storm clouds stayed calm as a bolt of lightning struck the ground a few metres behind her at second one, blasting up sparks and dirt, and more bolts forked across the violet-lit sky behind her while the wind whipped her coat. In a second run, a young man with a short undercut in a mustard raincoat over a grey hoodie on a mountain ridge under boiling storm clouds had a lightning bolt slam into the ground a few metres behind him at second one and a half, flashing the frame white and blasting up dirt, then stared into the lens as more forked bolts lit the sky behind him through the end.

Works best on a photo with visible sky and open ground behind the person, so the clouds and strikes have space. Outdoor scenes such as fields, roads or rooftops suit it. Indoor photos have no sky for the storm, and the flash can wash out already very bright images. The effect leaves the person exactly as they are in your photo and only adds the motion, light and atmosphere.

It runs on MiniMax H3 for five seconds by default, and H3 itself goes up to 15 seconds and 2K if you want more. Studio also lets you move the same prompt to another model before you generate, such as Seedance 2.0 or Wan 3.0, and the price on the Generate button updates with every change. Our samples were all made on MiniMax H3, so other models will read the prompt in their own way.

Good for dramatic trailers, intense profile clips and any edit that wants a sudden flash and a stormy mood.

Change "blinding bolt of lightning" to "bright blue bolt of lightning" for a colored strike, or change "a few meters behind" to "far behind" for a more distant strike.