Image Vignette Tool
Add or remove a vignette with control over size, softness, shape and colour, and correct the lens vignetting that a wide aperture introduces.
Last reviewed by the Radiatus Cloud team
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Two different things share the name
Lens vignetting is a defect: a wide aperture darkens the corners because less light reaches the edge of the frame, and it is worst on fast lenses shot wide open. Applied vignetting is a deliberate effect, darkening the edges to draw the eye towards the centre, and it comes from darkroom practice where the print edges were given less exposure. The same control corrects one and creates the other, depending on which direction it moves.
Softness matters more than strength
A vignette with a hard edge reads as a dark ring rather than as shading, and the eye finds the boundary immediately. A wide, gradual falloff is invisible as a technique while still doing its work of pulling attention inward. The usual mistake is too much strength with too little softness, which produces the heavy dark corners that make an image look processed rather than lit.
The shape should follow the subject
A circular vignette on a wide image darkens the left and right edges far more than the top and bottom, because the corners are further from the centre. An elliptical vignette matching the aspect ratio distributes the effect evenly around the frame, which is usually what is wanted. Where the subject is off-centre, moving the vignette centre to match matters more than any other setting.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What causes lens vignetting?
Less light reaching the edges of the frame, which is worst at wide apertures on fast lenses. It is a physical property of the optics rather than a fault, and it reduces as the lens is stopped down.
How do I correct it rather than add it?
Set a negative strength, which brightens the corners instead of darkening them. Correction can only recover detail that was recorded; corners that were pushed to black have nothing to recover.
Why does my vignette look like a dark ring?
Because the falloff is too abrupt. A wide gradual transition is invisible as a technique while still drawing the eye inward; a narrow one reads as a boundary the eye finds immediately.
Should the vignette be circular or elliptical?
Elliptical, matching the aspect ratio, in most cases. A circular vignette on a wide image darkens the left and right edges far more than the top and bottom, because the corners sit at different distances from the centre.
Does a vignette have to be dark?
No. A light vignette lifts the edges, which suits high-key images and product photography on white. It is less common because darkening reads as natural lighting falloff while lightening rarely does.
Privacy & Security
Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How to Use
Upload an image and adjust the vignette strength, size and softness.
Disclaimer: This tool is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Results are for educational and utility purposes.
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