Add Vignette to Photo

by **momoffduty** » Fri May 25, 2012 1:02 pm

What is the best way to add a vignette to a photo in PS? I am using CS5. One of by PS books does it in ACR, but I was trying to do the same thing in PS. I duplicated the layer and added a clipping mask to the copy with and Adj. Exposure set to -1.50. Created a mask & feathered liberally. Is there a better way?

by **Steve Grisetti** » Fri May 25, 2012 2:54 pm

A feathered layer mask is exactly what I'd have tried, Cheryl!

by **Dave McElderry** » Fri May 25, 2012 5:19 pm

Maybe you're doing something more complicated than I'm familiar with Cheryl (probably). I imagine the basic process would be about the same in Photoshop Elements, which is what I use. I just create a duplicate layer and use the Marquee Tool (usually eliptical) with feathering to suit. Once I've made the selection I then do a Select Inverse and Cut. That gives me the vignette that I can do with whatever I want. Or maybe this isn't what you're talking about. You're usually finishing the marathon as I pass the quarter mile.

by **momoffduty** » Fri May 25, 2012 6:45 pm

The vignette is a darker area around the photo, but yet with some transparency. In AE I create a vignette from a solid color that is almost black and I feather a mask which gives a shadowy look around the edges.

The PS book is using a copy of the photo and darkening it instead of a dark solid, which does achieve the same thing.

What I was wondering if there was a tried and true way that works best for photos. Since learning AE before PS I find myself trying to do things like I would in AE that is not necessarily the best in PS.

(Note to Dave: Your recent post on partitions was a marathon and I was still at the start gate.

)

by **Dave McElderry** » Fri May 25, 2012 7:11 pm

Ah, okay. Thanks for the info Cheryl. I learned something today, so it was a good day.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

by **Bob** » Fri May 25, 2012 7:50 pm

There are lots of ways to create a vignette.

The basic method is to create a selection with the elliptical marquee tool, inverse the selection, and feather liberally. Then, apply an adjustment layer to darken the edges. I prefer adding a levels adjustment layer -- you control the darkening by dragging the white output adjustment level triangle to the left.

With PS CS5, you can use the lens correction filter to create a vignette. Apply the lens correction filter, select the custom tab, and adjust the vignette amount and midpoint sliders to taste.

by **Dave McElderry** » Fri May 25, 2012 8:28 pm

Bob wrote:There are lots of ways to create a vignette.

The basic method is to create a selection with the elliptical marquee tool, inverse the selection, and feather liberally. Then, apply an adjustment layer to darken the edges. I prefer adding a levels adjustment layer -- you control the darkening by dragging the white output adjustment level triangle to the left.

I guesss I was on track after all. At least that's what I was trying to say. After I've cut out the feathered subject I can then have lots of options as to what to do with the edges or put behind it.

by **RJ Johnston** » Fri May 25, 2012 8:59 pm

Did you happen to get PhotoTools from OnOne as a free gift for purchasing Photoshop CS5? You can create a layer with a vignette using File > Automation > Phototools 5.5. There's a "bug" mode where you can dynamically control the vignette properties such as size, shape, feather.

by **momoffduty** » Sat May 26, 2012 3:58 pm

Thanks for the replies. Much appreciated.

PhotoTools: No, I do not see them in PS. Do they get installed automatically or with a check box? If a check box I probably didn't install. If so, can I install without doing a complete uninstall/reinstall? I've changed the defaults on a few things and a few brush presets and I changed my black & white points, etc. For downloaded brushes I did save a copy in another location and can easily copy back.

Levels Adj: I'll try that. I think that would be better than duplicating the photo since there would be other adjustments made and really didn't like the idea of merging the layers before duplicating.

Related question to the Adj layer: They come with a mask and after I make a selection and want that area to be black is there an easier way than using the paint bucket to fill in?

Lens Correction: I did try that option and it took a long time to load the UI panel. Normal?

by **RJ Johnston** » Sat May 26, 2012 4:58 pm

Re: PhotoTools

OnOne PhotoTools is a separate download and installation. It does not come with Photoshop. After you purchased Photoshop CS5, Adobe would have sent you an email with three items from which you select one free gift. PhotoTools was a choice. After it is installed, you can access it from the File > Automate menu in Photoshop.

by **Bob** » Sat May 26, 2012 5:58 pm

Related question to the Adj layer: They come with a mask and after I make a selection and want that area to be black is there an easier way than using the paint bucket to fill in?

If you make the selection first and then add the adjustment layer, the mask will automatically be filled with black and white corresponding to the selection. After adding the adjustment layer, the mask will be selected. If you need to inverse the mask, press ctrl+i.

If you added the adjustment layer and then made the selection, rather than use the paint bucket, delete the existing mask from the adjustment layer and add a new one. It will pick up the selection. Note: if you press the alt key while clicking on the add layer mask button in the layers panel, it will load the inverse.

If you already have a layer mask on another layer with the proper selection, you can copy it from one layer to another by pressing alt and dragging the mask from the one layer to another. If you don't press alt, the mask will be moved instead of copied.

Lens Correction: I did try that option and it took a long time to load the UI panel. Normal?

The first time you use lens correction, it takes a while to load as it's caching the lens profiles, after that it should load reasonably fast. On my system, it loads in a fraction of a second. I don't remember how long it took to initially cache the profiles, but it was a long time.

by **momoffduty** » Sat May 26, 2012 7:04 pm

PhotoTools: I just checked my old saved emails and no free gift option when I purchased CS5. It was 50% off and maybe that is why. They did give me a free 30 day trial of CS live which I didn't use.

Adj Layers: I tried the levels and couldn't get it to where I liked the look. I did try this method with the Exposure and it looked better. Would the Curves Adj. be an alternative?

Thanks RJ & Bob.

Bob I printed out your tips on masks. This will be a handy cheat sheet for me.

The most used shortcuts for me are ctrl+z & ctrl+i. Whenever I learn a new program I force myself to learn shortcuts, still learning in PS. So glad that you included that in your directions. Funny story: the other day I was turning the guides on and off which is ctr+; well I was pressing "ctrl" "+" ";" and couldn't figure out why weird things were happening. :lol:

by **Bob** » Sun May 27, 2012 12:58 am

Yes, the curves adjustment layer would be an alternative.

Another technique I'll sometimes use is painting in the vignette manually. Sometimes I want to just darken one or two corners or subdue an edge detail. I'll add a new layer to the top set to hard light blending mode and filled with 50% grey. The shortcut ctrl+shift+n brings up the new layer dialog and you can set the blending mode and enable the fill at the same time.

New Layer.JPG

Once the layer is added, I'll select a soft edged brush set to black and paint on the layer to darken it where I want. I set the brush to a size big enough to give a nice gradient and set the opacity low (around 10% but feel free to experiment) so I can control how much it darkens. You can paint over the area again if you want it darker. Takes a little practice. If the mode is set to soft light, the result is equivalent to using the burn tool. you can set the brush color to white if you want to lighten the edges.

I rely on shortcuts. I'd be handicapped if Adobe were to remove them. :lol:

by **momoffduty** » Sun May 27, 2012 4:44 pm

Thanks Bob, added to my notes. The copy mask in your previous post will come in handy. Sometimes I have a texture & add a mask to it and later decide to change the texture. The copy mask would be fast. Wish there was a way to replace like the Alt+drag method in AE.

The only keyboard shortcut I changed in PS was the Ctrl+Z. Have it set to continuous step back like in AE instead of the step back & step ahead. I could use the history panel, but prefer the Ctrl+Z.

by **Bob** » Sun May 27, 2012 9:55 pm

If you copy or move a mask to a layer that already has a mask it will replace it. You'll get a prompt to confirm the replacement.