SamsungImaging

Okay, okay. I don’t know if you remember, but cameras used to have this thing called ‘film’ inside.
Yup! It’s true! Way back in the Jurassic or Cretaceous Period, or something like that. I hear that the films are occasionally found with bone or feather fossils. But even this historic machinery has one thing that hasn’t changed – taking pictures through a lens. I don’t expect any major changes to that as long as cameras are around us. Anyways, the optical nature of the lens often leaves it lacking light, making the periphery of the photo appear dark. This is called vignetting.

Although vignetting is normally unintended and undesired, it is sometimes purposely used for creative effect, such as to draw attention to the center of the frame. It can be produced with the use of Photoshop as well as Light Room.

 

Okay! Let’s open the photo in Light Room. In the last posting (2nd posting), we went over how to open a photo in Light Room. Be careful however, as photos in CMYK mode cannot be opened.

 

First, press the button in the red square at the bottom of the screen to create two copies – one on the left is the original and the one on the right is working mode. In this way, you can compare your work with the original photo.

 

Next, find the vignette button on the right hand side of the window and click on it. You will be able to see several calibrations.

 

Now, let’s move the two arrows under Lens Correction to the very left.
You can see that the periphery has become darker.
Amount is to adjust level of darkness and Midpoint the range.

 

If you go to the exact opposite end, or +100, you can see that the periphery has turned white.

 

Now, let’s move down and move the Amount arrow under Post-Crop to -100.
Can you see that the periphery has turned darker like the last time?

 

Let’s leave Amount at -100 and adjust Midpoint to -100.
Can you see that the photo is darker in a wider area.

 

Roundness indicates how round the periphery is. +100 makes it closer to a circle…

 

If you move closer to -100, the area turns into a more rectangular form with round corners.

 

Feather indicates how distinct the borders are.
100 makes it the most blurry…

 

And 0 is the most distinct.

 

I’ve adjusted the numbers to produce a photo with slight darkness in the periphery.
Play around with the numbers for a fully customized photo for yourself!

 

By the way, what is the difference between Lens Correction and Post-Crop? You can tell the difference by trying out the crop function.

Let’s try using the Crop Overlay function located in the red square.

 

A rectangular frame will appear which you can use to crop the photo using the edges.

 

The picture on the top used Lens Correction while the one on the bottom used Post-Crop.
With Lens Correction, the effect disappears if you crop the area that was vignetted, while Post-Crop maintains the vignetting effect regardless of the cropped area.

So, that was enough for vignetting! With Photoshop, you can do a more precise job of it while Light Room is easier to use yet ensuring good effect.When it comes to photos, you want to grab attention, right? Look forward to more tips on how to use digital technology to produce better photos! See ya next time.