Photography 101

Today’s topic: Vignettes…how-to!

Last week we discussed how important it is to keep your photo natural looking. As I later explored iphoto and picasa, I realized there is really no good vignette option. I do all of mine in photoshop which I know is not available to everybody (though if you know a student or a teacher, you can get a sweet discounted version!).

Here’s what I shared last week from photoshop:

Original (straight out of the camera)

DO:
Slight vignette (added in Photoshop CS4)

DON’T:

No no no!!!!

Not natural, distracting, halppppp!

As I said above, in Picasa, there is no “vignette” option.
To gain a similar effect:

1. Click Effects.
2. Click Soft Focus.
3. Move the Size slider all the way to the right, so most of your photo does not have blur on it.
4. Move the Amount slider all the way to the left, so that it’s very minimal.

iphoto does have a vignette option, though it’s very dark and very harsh.
1. Click Edit.
2. Click Effects.
3. Click Vignette. It will automatically put a thick, dark vignette around your photo.

Instead, try edge blur-
1. Click Edit.
2. Click Effects.
3. Click Edge Blur.

How do you keep it natural? What are your goals for future pictures?

Post your progress and link back in a comment!!

Check out Caitlin’s website here: http://www.caitlindomanico.com

Until next week, happy shooting!!!

www.caitlindomanico.com