Creating an Off Centre Vignette Effect in Lightroom
If you follow my screencasts regularly, then you will know I am a big fan of adding a little vignetting (darkening of the corners) to my images. Heck! I even created a whole series of actions called the “Vignette Maker” just for Photoshop. But what if you want to create a vignette non-destructively in Lightroom or ACR? Yes, I know we can all do that with the post-crop vignette. No brainer! Ah, but what if you want to off-set the vignette? Watch the screencast after the jump for the work around.
After last weeks epic screencast. I thought I would do a little shorty and this vignette technique has been on the list for a while. Thanks to the photographers who asked for it. To many to mention, but you know who you are… Enjoy!
© Stuart Little 2010
This building sits at the corner of Buchanan Street in Glasgow and when I was younger I used to use it as a landmark for getting back to Central Station. Now, its on the way to the Apple Store, where I have been making regular visits due to my MBP being a little poorly. Thankfully they are replacing practically everything inside in a bid to get it working again and its not costing me a bean! Happy Days…
© Stuart Little 2010
The image above was imported into Lightroom as per last weeks screencast “Learn How to Create a Better RAW Image with ACR Camera Profiles”.I used the vivid camera profile and then increased the clarity and dialled down the vibrance until it cooled the image. I added a gradient to darken the pavement and finally I added a little split toning on the warm side of the highlights which kind of helps the cool colours. Both images were shot on my little Canon G9, and under-exposed by around a 1/3rd EV to deepen the colours. I also advocate this camera for street photography because it does not draw any attention to what you are doing. >
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Nice idea! One suggestion, though, is when doing the initial full-frame paint, set the brush feather to zero. Strokes with a feather are much more computationally intensive than without, and it seems prudent not to tempt the CPU fates.
Hi Jeffrey,
Thats a great tip for PC users who have concerns over their CPU usage. Thank you.
Cheers
Stu
Thanks for the tip! Matt Kloskowski did something somewhat similar, but different, over on his page. This one’s more dramatic, however. I’ve added you to my Lightroom Links page: http://bit.ly/4XuaXE
Mike.
@Mike, Ah, that explains the flurry of emails a while back. I tend to find when I get asked for something its because someone else has been there as well. Glad you liked it and thanks for the link.
[...] see more images from my little trip into the city over on the main website and also learn how to Create an Off Centre Vignette Effect with this very image. [...]