So vignettes have hit the streets running as one of those awesome ways to make an image go from eh.. to Wow…  I don’t want to like vignettes because they seem so cliche, but they work, they really work.  They do a great job of diverting one’s attention to the focal point in an almost subliminal way.  So how can we spruce up the vignette a bit to get a different look with the same concept?  Photoshop of course!  I have used the power of blending options, specifically Color, and really enjoy the outcome.

  • Duplicate the image layer you would like to vignette by pressing Ctrl+J (Cmd+J)
  • Go to Filter>Lens Correction  or press Shift+Ctrl+r (Shift+Cmd+r).
  • In the Lens Correction panel click on the Custom tab.
  • In the Vignette section change the Amount to -100 and the Midpoint to +15
  • Press Ok
  • Now, in the layers palette, select your vignetted layer and change the Blend Mode to Color.
  • And there you have it, a subtle, what I like to call, Color Reduction Vignette!  A nice alternative to the typical Vignette seen all over the web.
This Vignette effect is found in my Actions Package coming very soon to the Everyday HDR Store!  If you like what is going on here, you will love the fact that it is fully automated in my Actions set.  Check out this effect as well as 25 other Actions, all in one nice neat package!  The package will be available for purchase on 11 January 2012!
Blake Rudis
f.64 Academy and f.64 Elite are the brainchildren of Blake Rudis. While he is a landscape photographer, he is most passionate about post-processing images in Photoshop and mentoring others.

For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
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