February Tip: Using Vignettes to Hold the Viewer’s Attention
Being able to capture the attention of the viewer is one thing, but holding their attention once they are looking at your image is another. One method to keep the viewer’s eye on your subject is by adding a dark vignette around the subject. In this example, I used the new Vignette: Lens filter found in Color Efex Pro 4. I was able to increase the center brightness as well as darken the area around the edges of my image quickly and easily. This can create a very natural look and doesn’t have to be overdone. Now I can hold the viewer’s attention by directing their eye to my subject.
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© Laurie RubinAfter:
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Laurie loved the Africa images and techniques you used in the webinar. Went back and worked on some of mine from 2010 using Nik collection and some of your techniques. Added a lot of wow factor. Used some presets that I had not used in combo. Thanks for sharing. Do have questioning about sharpening. Detail extractor+tonal contrast+viveza2 structure+sharpener pro for web equals what some say might be over sharpening. Does create real pop! I am looking for guidance on just starting slider settings in such scenarios? Can you point me in right direction?
Thank you Steve for your kind comment and I’m glad to hear that you were able to implement some of the tips in one of my webinars for your own Africa images. Here is another tip for you on sharpening… when you apply filters such as Detail Extractor, Tonal Contrast and Structure, these actually add contrast between the fine lines and details so that it appears to sharpen your image. I tend to sharpen my images at the very end of my workflow, if needed, and in particular with wildlife, I will selectively sharpen just certain areas using Control Points or the Brush feature in Photoshop on the eyes, claws, a lion’s mane, etc. I hope that helps!