Why does my bloom blow out highlights?

Threshold too low + Intensity too high = bloom captures everything bright and pumps it. Raise Threshold to 1.0+ for HDR scenes; lower Intensity to 0.4-0.6. Tonemap after bloom for natural rolloff.

HDRP-only param that softens the bloom threshold transition. 0 = hard cut at threshold; 1 = gradual ramp. URP uses Scatter for similar control over bloom texture spread.

Should bloom run before or after tonemapping?

Before in HDR pipelines — bloom on linear color, then tonemap maps to display. Reversed order produces flat washed-out blooms. URP/HDRP defaults are correct; verify if you've added a custom render feature.

Fix: Unity Bloom Soft Knee Clipping Highlights

Quick answer: Set Threshold = 1.0–1.5 (HDR scenes), Intensity = 0.4–0.7. HDRP: tune Soft Knee 0.5. URP: Scatter 0.7. Bloom runs before tonemap; verify pipeline order.

Bright sun blows out the screen with bloom enabled. Threshold too low; everything qualifies as “bright” and pumps to white.

The Symptom

Highlights clip to flat white blobs. Detail in bright regions vanishes. Lowering bloom intensity helps but loses the effect on intentional brights.

The Fix

Volume Profile → Bloom override:
  Threshold:        1.0      // HDR threshold
  Intensity:        0.5
  Scatter (URP):    0.7
  Soft Knee (HDRP): 0.5      // gradual ramp
  Tint:             white

Threshold above 1.0 means only HDR-bright values bloom. Soft Knee softens the threshold transition. Intensity 0.5 is a moderate effect.

Tonemap After Bloom

Bloom should be applied before tonemapping in HDR scenes. URP/HDRP default order is correct. If you have a custom Render Feature inserting tonemap before bloom, swap the order.

Verifying

Look at a bright sun. Should glow without blanket-blowing the scene. Detail in bright regions remains. Tweak Threshold/Intensity until the effect matches reference.

“Threshold above 1.0. Modest intensity. Bloom before tonemap. Highlights breathe.”

Related Issues

For Volume blend distance, see Volume blend. For vignette ultrawide, see vignette.

Threshold up. Intensity down. Bloom tasteful.