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Vignette effect
We have discussed
the elimination of edge darkening aka vignetting earlier. This optical
aberration if mainly experienced as a darkening of a smaller or larger
extent in the corners of photos taken with a wide-angle lens. This time,
however, we won’t write about decreasing this effect. Quite on the
contrary, we’ll try to spoil a healthy picture with a bit of artificial
vignette. Why should one do that? This interesting effect can sometimes
help you emphasize the main theme of the picture, for example in a
portrait or an object photo. Don’t be afraid! It won’t hurt a bit.
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1.Open
the photo
This
is the photo we will add dark corners to, in order to
highlight the theme in the middle. |
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2.Oval
selection
First, select the
Elliptical Marquee Tool.
Drag a marquee from the upper left corner to the lower
right. It will cover the whole of the picture, apart
from the corners.
The middle of the picture is selected right now, but
we’ll need to manipulate the corners. Right-click inside
the selection and click
Select Inverse
in order to swap the selected areas. |
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3.
Putting a mask on
Click the indicated button on the
Tools
palette or
press
Q to
display the selection mask. The areas marked in red are
masked out. They won’t be affected by the changes you
make. The unmasked areas are affected by all changes. As
we want a soft edge darkening effect, and the contour of
the selection is obviously sharp, we’ll have to blur it.
You can do this just like when blurring any other
picture element. Simply click
Filter/Blur/Gaussian
Blur and set a moderate to high value on
the dialog. We used a value of about
61 to 62.
For a sharper transition, use a lower
Radius
value. For a softer one, set it higher.
The
blur will only affect the mask, not the picture. At
least, not yet.
Press Q
again when you’re done to quit the Quick Mask mode. The
picture once again becomes editable. |
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4.
Dark edges
Take
care to not click the picture! Doing so cancels the
selection and resets all the work you have done until
now. Click
Image/Adjustments/Levels instead, and
drag the indicated arrow to the left on the dialog that
is displayed. The more you drag it to the left, the
darker the corners will become. Set the vignette effect
according to your taste. |
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5.
The effect...
...is surely visible. Do we need to say more? Have fun
trying around! |
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