A vignette, or soft fade, is a popular photo effect where the photo gradually fades into the background, usually in an oval shape. Elements has a built in vignette effect, but this method gives you more control. New: See my updated tutorial on how to create a vignette effect non-destructively.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 1 minute
Here's How:
- Open a photo.
- Select the Elliptical Marquee Tool.
- Click and drag across the image to select the area of the photo you want to keep.
- Go to Select > Feather and enter a radius amount. A value between 20-50 works well. The higher the value, the softer the fade will be.
- Go to Select > Inverse.
- If you want a background color other than white, black or gray, choose the color in the toolbox now.
- Go to Edit > Fill and select a color or pattern to fill in the background.
- Go to Select > Deselect.
Tips:
- Be sure to save under a different name so you don't overwrite your original.
- After step 4, you can optionally copy and paste the feathered selection to another image.
- There is a one-click Vignette in the effects palette of Photoshop Elements, but by learning the manual method, you have control over the softness of the fade and the background contents.
- New: See my updated tutorial on how to create a vignette effect non-destructively.
