Embellish Outdoor Photos with Attention-Grabbing Vignettes (VIDEO)
A simple eye-catching vignette can often transform a good photograph into a great one by accentuating the main subject or object within the frame, whether you’re capturing landscapes, wildlife images, or environmental portraits. Today’s comprehensive guide from Eastern Shore Photo Instruction walks you through a simple step-by-step process for getting the job done with precision.
Simply put, a vignette is nothing more that a gradual darkening (or lightening) that creates a fade to the center of an image that can be easily introduced during post-processing to add a subtle artistic flare and guide the viewer’s eyes through the scene.
Our soft-spoken instructor Mickey describes his foolproof technique like this: “By using Lightroom’s post-crop vignette tool in combination with a radial or linear gradient you can creatively add contrast to an image and introduce a light pathway that’s easy to follow. He demonstrates how to make vignettes even more compelling by adding additional features like spotlights or intersecting masks.
Mickey says he takes advantage of this effect for enhancing almost ever image he edits, and he explains why he prefers natural-looking vignettes rather than “hammering in home” with an overwhelming heavy-handed approach that just doesn’t appear realistic.
He begins with a basic, practical use of Lightroom’s post-crop vignetting tool that can often produce effective results but does have a few limitations as compared to more advanced methods. When pulling up this panel you’ll notice three simple Style options: Highlight, Color, and Paint Overlay.
Once you master these simple enhancements (and it doesn’t take long) you’ll be prepared to tackle sophisticated techniques that provide far more control. Mickey provides three demonstrations that will take your effects to the next level. One possibility is the use of radial gradient vignetting, another is what he calls “reflective gradient vignettes,” and the third involves combining a radial gradient vignette with an intersecting linear gradient.
The lesson concludes with a striking example of employing the radial gradient vignette at Blue Hour for beautiful shadow enhancement. There’s much more you can learn about a variety of photographic techniques by visiting the Eastern Shore Photo Instruction YouTube channel.
And be sure you don’t miss our earlier tutorial with another post-processing specialist who demonstrates how to use Lightroom’s powerful Point Color tool to gain full control of the colors in your nature, landscape and travel photographs.
