Adding vignette - when does it become too much?

jdeg

^ broke something
Staff member
I've been experimenting a bit with different photos and even going back and re-editing some ones that have previously been edited. I've found that a lot of them look significantly better with a just a little vignette added.

How much vignette if any do you apply to your photos? Do you do it only for portraits?
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
I frequently add a vignette to my photos.

I'm a huge fan of Lomography, and that washed-out old school vintage look. It's kind of amusing to take a photograph from a $1200 camera and make it appear to have come from a cheap film camera from the 80's.

I don't use vignettes for portraits only, I think they can be used for a variety of images.

4785155396_df7e839918_z.jpg
 

Greywoulf

New member
I frequently add a vignette to my photos.

I'm a huge fan of Lomography, and that washed-out old school vintage look. It's kind of amusing to take a photograph from a $1200 camera and make it appear to have come from a cheap film camera from the 80's.

I don't use vignettes for portraits only, I think they can be used for a variety of images.

View attachment 159

I like that shot... There's some HDR technique in that too, right?
It looks like a more detailed Hopper style painting...
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
I like that shot... There's some HDR technique in that too, right?
It looks like a more detailed Hopper style painting...

Thanks! ;)

There's no HDR in my photo...the only HDR software I currently have is the trial version of Photomatix, which stamps a watermark all over the image. I will probably be buying the full version soon, because I really like playing around with it.

If memory serves, the editing on this photo consisted of some saturation enhancements in ACR as well as a Photoshop action I created long ago called "Vintage". It adds some depth (which is what probably gave the impression of HDR) as well as contrast and a vignette.
 

jdeg

^ broke something
Staff member
Here's a good example of a photo I edited and then re-edited:

Original:
DSC_0770.JPG


Vignette + some other color balance enhancements:
DSC_0770.jpg
 

Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
Looks nice to me, not over the top or anything. I do like vignette in some portrait shots, especially helpful when the DOF isn't shallow enough.
 
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