How to Put a Simple Vignette on Your Photograph in Photoshop

There is more than one way to put a vignette on a photo in Photoshop. Some are pretty complex, really more work than is needed for a simple vignette. I will show you the easiest way that I have found.

1. Open your document in Photoshop. Once you have completed all of your initial editing (levels, color correction, etc..) and flattened and existing layers. You will be ready for the vignette, I always do it as the last step of my work flow.

2. You will want to select your marquee tool in the tool palette. You can use either a rectangular or an elliptical marquee tool. They do pretty much what they are named, the rectangular will be square and the elliptical will be round.

3. You will then need to place your cursor on the upper right hand corner of the photo. You can make the vignette thicker or narrower by starting your start point closer to the edge or farther into the photo. When you decide where to start your vignette at, you will left click and hold it down as you drag down and across the photo. You will want to drag the selection line (marching ants) until it is pretty even on all sides. Again there is no right or wrong, just whatever looks good to you. Once you get it where you want it, you can let off the left mouse button to see the selected area. If it looks good you are ready to proceed to the next step.

4. You will need to set the foreground color in your color palette to the color that you want the vignette to be. Once that is selected then you will go to your SELECT menu at the top of the page, when the menu pulls down you will select FEATHER. Here you can select any amount of feather depending on how wide you want the vignette to be. I usually use around 80 to 100. That gives it a very nice fade into the picture. Once you have the fade completed, you will pull down the SELECT menu again and click on INVERT.

5. You are almost ready to see your beautiful vignette. The final step is to press the DELETE button. Depending on the version of Photoshop that you have, you may or may not need to select foreground or background color. On CS4 and above it will prompt you to make that selection. Once you click your selection of foreground, the vignette will appear.

6. Final step is to save your work.

This is a very simple process, but can really add some pop to your photos.

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How To Photograph Your Favorite Animals

People love different kinds of animals from the small ones to the big ones. Not only do they love to watch and touch these animals but many are also fond of taking photos of certain animals.

When it comes to taking pictures of animals, though, a lot of patience and perseverance is required. Keep in mind that whether it's a dog, cat or bird that you're trying to photograph, there will always be movements that are beyond your control. You will also need to understand their behavior so that you will know their possible reactions and anticipate the time for a good shoot.

When capturing images of animals, you can apply what you do when taking pictures of people. The principle is similar. You just have to know what you want to capture and the message you want to convey about a particular animal. So for example, you saw a cow and her calf sitting beside each other. You try to decide which angle to take your shot and at this instant, you should already have a message in mind as to what your photo should say about the two animals. You can eventually describe the photo as a mother and child moment or something to that effect.

Once you determine your concept of the image, you will then have to apply your knowledge regarding composition, lighting and angles. This will help you achieve your goal to capture a great scene.

Experienced photographers who specialize in animals would also tell you that patience is very important. They say it's like engaging in a fishing hobby because you need to wait for a long time in order to catch the best fish. Remember we're talking about animals who don't think and act like humans do. They can be uncooperative at times and the worse is when they show their outrageous behavior at the time you're about to photograph them.

But if you have patience and you know how to keep an animal still or calm, you will eventually succeed in achieving your goal. It's like dealing with a toddler who can be restless and full of energy they can't stay too long in one position.

Another tip that you can use is to practice. If you plan to take photos of animals in the wild, you can practice by taking pictures at the zoo. Study how they behave and react to people so that you will know what to expect from them. If no zoo is available, you can always go to a farm or ranch near your place. There, you can capture the movements of various animals such as the duck, cow, horse, sheep and dogs.

When outdoors, however, especially when you're in the wild, always take extra precaution. Never risk your safety. You may be tempted to go near a wild animal but if possible, just stay in your car and take pictures there. Some animals may look friendly but beware, they can hurt or worse, kill you if you try to go near them and pet them.

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