How can you make a good photo even better, and instantly direct the viewer’s eye to your subject? It’s simple… with subtle vignetting.
Similar to edge burning, vignetting allows you to gradually fade and darken the edges of your image, which automatically brings attention to the center of the image – your subject.
Here’s how it’s done… don’t blink, or you’ll miss it!
1) Open the image you want to work with in Elements.
2) Click on the Create a new layer icon on the Layers panel.
3) Press the letter D to get the default colors of black and white for your Color Chips. Press Alt Backspace (Mac: Opt Delete) to fill the new layer with black (the Foreground color).
4) With the Rectangular Marquee tool, click and drag an outline inside the edges of your image.
Variation: Instead of using the Rectangular Marquee tool, try the Elliptical Marquee tool, and draw an oval selection.
5) In the Options bar, choose Select > Feather. When the dialog box comes up, set your Feather Radius to 180 and click OK. You can vary the radius, depending upon how much “fade” you want.
6) Press Backspace (Mac: Delete) to get rid of the center selection, leaving you with a nicely faded vignette. Press Ctrl D (Mac: Cmd D) to deselect. Adjust the Opacity slider at the top of the Layers panel to achieve a more subtle look. I set my vignette layer to about 58%.
Compare the difference in your image with and without the vignette. You’ll find that this simple, subtle effect helps “frame” your subject and adds a polished look to your photo.
Turn off all the layers except your vignette layer, then save that layer as a PNG file. You’ll have a ready-made vignette to apply to other photos anytime!
Download a PDF version of this “Create a Photo Vignette” tutorial.
Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Love this! Couldn’t be easier… and what an impact! Fun for ME!
Jan….thanks so much for this easier way to accomplish a vignette. Can’t wait to put it to use…and LOVE the bonus tip about saving it as a png file to use over and over.
Wow! Do you have any idea how many hour I’ve spent trying to figure this out?? This is perfect, and you’ll see it on some of my photos soon! Thanks for the tip.
Thanks for the tip…I’m going to be using this one for sure. I have been using the feather option on the photo in the past, but this sounds like a very cool thing to use.
So glad you’re enjoying the Tip, ladies!
This is definitely one I will use over and over! Thanks, Jan!
This is so cool. I already tried it on on several of my photos and can’t wait to print them off and show them to my friends & family. It really does make a difference in bringing out the photo! Thank you so much for the tutorial and the extra .png tip.
I have PSE 7 and don’t have the same settings for this tip. I finally figured out that you have to chose feathering from the Select menu. It’s not under modify, feather.
Thanks for the really great tip. It will definitely be used.
Great tip!
Dear Jan.
You do very beautiful work.
I really want to do Beautiful Alana,that is outstanding page,and I still can’t make it .Can we learn together,please?
Thank you.
Svetlana Lanzone.
Hi Svetlana,
Thank you! I’m glad you liked that page. It’s one of my favorites, too. You can email me at jan@scrappersguide.com and I’ll tell you more about how I created it!
Bonus Tip??
You mention turning off all layers to save the vignette layer.
How do you turn off the layers??
Thanks for the great tips they make working in Photoshop so stress free and enjoyable!!
Hi Gina,
To turn off the other layers, just click on the little “eye” icon beside each layer in the layers palette, except for the layer with the vignette.