How To Make A Half Vignette

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A vignette is a tried and true finishing adjustment to a photo. A gentle darkening at the edges pushes your viewer toward your subject. In my landscapes, I’ll use a half-vignette to guide my viewer higher or lower in a photo.

Use a combination of a radial and linear gradient filters to make a half-vignette in Lightroom.

In Lightroom:

  • Create a new mask and choose the Radial Mask

  • Invert the radial mask.

  • Drag the radial on your photo, positioning it so it affects the edge or area you want to darken.

  • In the masking panel, click Subtract and choose Linear Gradient

  • Drag the linear gradient over the area you don’t want darkened

  • Adjust the Exposure slider to taste

Pro tip: Save just the half-vignette mask as an accent preset. Learn more.

Use the Vignette filter with a Gradient Mask to make a half-vignette in ON1 Photo RAW/ON1 Effects.

In ON1 Photo RAW or ON1 Effects:

  • Switch to the Effects tab

  • Add a Vignette filter

  • Use the sliders to shape and recenter the vignette

  • Click the mask icon for the Vignette filter

  • Add a Gradient Mask to remove the vignette from the area you don’t want darkened

Learn more about the ON1 Vignette filter.

Sunset At Face Rock On Bandon Beach
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