Vignette is a popular photo effect that have the power to construct viewer to focus more into the subject by giving a nice soft and gradual fade effect with the background.
There many ways to create vignette effect but I prefer only this method since it gave me more control and non-destructive to the photo.
This is a simple Photoshop Tutorial on how you can create vignette effect effectively in Photoshop. Enjoy!
1. Open Image
Open your image in Adobe Photoshop. In this tutorial I use Photoshop CS4
2. Duplicate Image
Control + J to duplicate the image or Right Click > Duplicate. You can rename new layer as Vignette or whatever you like. Doesn’t matter.
3. Adjust Image Exposure
Click on the Vignette Layer and then goto Images > Adjusments > Curves
Move Curves slider down to darken area. You can control your output background by moving and playing with Curves silder.
Now you will have an underexpose image. Check for pixel details. You don’t want your image to be too dark and almost black.
4. Add Layer Mask
Add Layer Mask to Vignette layer and then make a oval selection as shown by using Elliptical Marquee Tool.
Click on Layer Mask and Paint your oval selection with Black
5. Add Gaussian Blur
Now goto to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.
Move slider to the right and control your final output.
6. Vignette Effect done!
You are done. This how the result looks like.
Original:
With Vignette Effect:
Conclusion
How is it? It is quite easy to follow right…
Vignette effect do help viewer to stay focus on the subject. Although vignette effect might looks simple but it is important to execute the process effectively to ensure that we did not overdo.
Thats all guys. I hope you like my simple tutorial on how to create vignette effect in Photoshop. Enjoy!
Read: 20 Stunning Low Light and Night Photography for Inspiration