Adding a subtle vignette to an image is a great way to finish up an edit and an effective method for focusing a viewer’s attention on the central portion of your scene. But here’s the rub: While most processing software includes sliders that allow you to easily apply this effect, the results you achieve by taking this approach are often disappointing.

According to Utah-based landscape photographer Austin James Jackson, one of our favorite young instructors, there’s a much better way to get the job done, and you’ll learn what that is in the eye-opening tutorial below. James describes his technique like this: “I create a totally custom vignette in Photoshop that both brightens the center of my photos and darkens the edges.”

As you’ll see, this straightforward technique protects the bright spots in an image, and it’s totally customizable so you can easily dial in the perfect vignette for just about any photo you shoot—be it a landscape, a portrait, or even macro shot. This method is admittedly a bit more time-consuming that simply moving a slider, but if image-quality is your primary concern, the results you’ll achieve are well worth the nominal extra effort.

 explains that a vignette is simply the darkening of edges in a photo, noting that “this is something I apply to every one of my images.” He further insists that the custom vignettes you learn to create, “will work on your images 100% of the time.”

The lesson begins with a demonstration of why the standard approach of dragging a slider is lacking in a number of ways, even if you utilize available options like protecting highlights, feather edges, and modifying the shape of the vignette. Oftentimes even adjusting the midpoint doesn’t help to deliver a look that isn’t more than just OK.

Iś you’re unwilling to settle for “decent,” a custom vignette for the specific image at hand is definitely the way to go. And the good news is that you can get the job done quickly without any expertise in Photoshop other than what you’ll learn by watching this video.

James walks you through the simple process with three different images, demonstrating how and why a proper vignette can make a world of difference to the impact of each of the shots. Rather than summarizing the technique here we’ll let the expert explain everything you need to know.

If you’ve never considered applying vignettes to your photos this lesson will quickly change your mind. And if you’ve tried the conventional approach in the past, and were displeased with the results, you’ll now understand the best way to add this compelling effect.

There’s much more to learn about shooting and editing landscape photos on James’ popular YouTube channel, so elevate your skills by taking a look.

We recently posted  a tutorial with another landscape pro, explaining how to give landscape photos by a unique look, so be sure to watch that one as well.

It seems like every time we post a tutorial about the use of external flash we receive a bunch of comments from photographers who insist on shooting with available light—despite the fact that this approach doesn’t always deliver the best possible results in certain situations.

Today’s “illuminating” tutorial from the AI Photo Guy is designed for the flash phobic among you, explaining a simple way to control the quality and quantity of light hitting a subject, using a simple, inexpensive accessory that doesn’t rely upon complicated electronics or any special skills; namely, the lightweight and packable reflector.

Instructor John Henry is an accomplished wedding photographer based in South Africa who likes to keep things as simple as possible, and in less than two minutes he demonstrates how reflectors enable you to dramatically improve your photos and achieve stunning images. Everything you need to know is super simple, and it takes Henry less than two minutes to explain.

And if you assume that this approach is just for beginners think again, because this easy technique is also common among pros, visual artists, and budding photo enthusiasts. Henry covers a variety of ground in a hurry, including the various types of reflector available, the impact of using those of different colors, how to position the reflector relative to your subject and the sun, and much more.

Henry also provides a variety of practical tips for maximizing the use of reflectors to capture a wide variety of subjects, whether you’re shooting landscapes, environmental portraits, macro subjects and even product shots. In short, these simple tools offer endless possibilities for enhancing natural light, filling in shadows, and sculpting light to perfection so you can easily achieve professional looking results.

Very little practice is required to get the hang of it, and once you do you’ll be ready to tackle the more advanced technique Henry explains, like using multiple reflectors simultaneously, and even combining reflectors with other supplemental light.

Bottom line: By following Henry’s straightforward advice you’ll quickly elevate your photography and transform how-hum shots into visual masterpieces. So invest in a reflector or two and you’ll only be limited by your imagination, while surprising yourself by what you’re able to achieve.

And then you can ignore that expensive flash gathering dust in the back of your camera cabinet. After watching this video pay a visit to Henry’s YouTube channel where you’ll find more great advice for photographers of all skill levels.

And speaking of inexpensive accessories that work wonders, be sure to check out the earlier tutorial we posted from another experienced shooter who explains how to use affordable lens filters to significantly improve the look of your photographs.

When most landscape photographers edit their images they strive for a bright and vivid effect, especially during autumn when beautiful warm, golden tones are just about everywhere you look. But how about marching to the beat of your own drummer by giving images a dark and moody effect that’s full of eye-catching drama?

German landscape photographer Christian Mohrle is the man for the job, and in this 12-minute photoshop tutorial he demonstrates how to create photos with unique a look that will really stand out from the crowd. We recommend downloading the demonstration image with the link beneath the video so you make the adjustments yourself as Mohrle walks you through the step-by-step process.

Mohrle always begins his transformations with a few global adjustments to create a solid base image for the magic that follows. Today’s photo is a forest scene that he crops heavily so two large trees on either side of the scene perfectly frame the dirt path running through the middle. This also gives the image a nice sense of symmetry.

His preliminary enhancements also include switching the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe Standard which contributes to his final goal by immediately lessening contrast and preparing the shot for the foggy look he applies later. He also cools off the shot by carefully dropping Color Temperature and increases Tint by a notch for more natural colors. Next he significantly drops exposure, being mindful that he’ll later use masking to selectively reintroduce light in specific portions of the frame.

After a couple more basic adjustments it’s time for the masking to begin. Because the center of the photo is nicely framed by the trees, Mohrle accentuates that area by brightening it up with a large Radial Gradient. He also uses this selection to add light entering the center of the frame from above.

Next comes a Linear Gradient over the bottom portion of the image used to darken the foreground and surrounding areas. Mohrle pays close attention to the histogram to avoid going too far. After applying a couple more masks to achieve a balanced exposure and subtle vignette, color grading is next on his list.

This step with Photoshop’s Color Mixer is really simple, as Mohrle pushes the Saturation of the orange, yellow, blue, and green tones. He also makes use of Spit-Toning tools within the Color Grading panel. All that’s left to complete the impressive transformation is a bit of dodging and cleanup.

You can find more lessons on giving photos a unique look by visiting Mohrle’s instructional YouTube, so take some time to explore if you haven’t done so in the past.

And be sure to check out the recent tutorial we posted with another processing expert, explaining an easy technique for using Luminosity masks that provides ultimate control of exposure and color.