Lightroom Tutorial: Custom Photo Vignette with a Radial Gradient
A vignette is a gradual transition from light to dark around the edges of a photo. This can be used to draw attention to the subject of the photo, or to create a more dramatic look. There are many ways to create a vignette in Lightroom, but one of the most versatile is to use the Radial Gradient tool.
What you’ll need:
- Adobe Lightroom
- A photo
Steps:
- Open your photo in Lightroom.
- Go to the Develop module.
- Click on the Radial Gradient tool.
- Drag over the focal point of your photo. This is the area that you want to remain bright.
- Make sure the Invert checkbox is checked. This will apply the vignette to the outside of the gradient outline.
- Drag the Exposure slider to darken the edges of the photo. You can also adjust the Feather slider to control the transition from light to dark.
- You can also adjust other sliders in the Radial Gradient panel, such as Saturation, Sharpness, and Color, to further customize the vignette.
- Click on the Add Point button to add another point to the gradient. This can be used to create a more complex vignette, such as one that fades out in multiple directions.
- Click on the Show Overlay button to see the gradient overlay on your photo. This can help you to adjust the position and size of the gradient.
- When you are happy with the vignette, click on the Done button.
Tips:
- You can use the Eyedropper tool to select the color of the highlight area.
- You can use the Pin tool to pin the gradient in place so that it doesn’t move when you zoom in or out.
- You can use the Opacity slider to control the strength of the vignette.
Here are some examples of how you can use radial gradients to create different types of vignettes:
- Center-focused vignette: This is the most common type of vignette, and it is created by dragging the radial gradient tool from the center of the photo outwards.
- Off-center vignette: This type of vignette is used to draw attention to an off-center subject. To create an off-center vignette, drag the radial gradient tool from the subject outwards.
- Multiple vignettes: You can use multiple radial gradients to create a more complex vignette. For example, you could use one gradient to darken the top and bottom of the photo, and another gradient to darken the left and right sides.
- Reverse vignette: This type of vignette is created by inverting the radial gradient tool. This will darken the center of the photo and brighten the edges.
I hope this tutorial has helped you to learn how to create custom photo vignettes with radial gradients in Lightroom.