Working on Vignetting with Cinderella's Castle

[bmitch]

So I'm starting to work on adding some vignetting to some of my shots.

Let me know what you think.

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[hulagirl]

Brian, it made me smile. ; Usually, people complain about vignetting and want to get rid of it. ; You are choosing to give it a chance and use it artistically.

For me...I think vignetting sometimes lends itself to softening a portrait nicely. ; Have you tried it with any character photos or people shots?

 

[jtrain75]

I love vignetting, I add them to most of my portraitures and I think it gives them a distinct look. I like the photo!!!

 

[WDWFigment]

I think it works fine on that photo. ; I am of the opposite opinion of Roni--I think so many people add them to photos (I especially see this on Flickr) just for the sake of being artistic with no real purpose. ; My stance is that if you throw something on because you think that it's inherently artistic, and will thus make the photo more artistic, it isn't artistic at all--it's sloppy.

Many times they are overdone, obscure somewhat important elements of the shot, and distract more than they direct the eye. ; If used subtly on the appropriate shot, I have no issue, but often they are rampantly overused, in my opinion. ; That's just my two cents, though. ; Most comments I read on Flickr praise them (for no stated reason though). ;

...maybe Roni sees my constant comments that I 'don't care for the vignette'?

 

[mPower]

I agree that most times, they are over used as a filter, and over complained about as a 'fault' of lenses.

That said, I think this image would be even stronger if it were B&W.

 

[hulagirl]

No, I wouldn't do that. ; I was referring to comments I found constantly when trying to decide on a lens purchase, about how this lens or that lens had the dreaded vignetting in the corners.

I certainly respect both your opinion and your work, Tom. ; I may not always agree with it, but I can disagree respectfully.

Brian, I like how you try new angles and effects. ; I think it keeps things interesting.

 

[Jeff Fillmore]

I like subtle vignetting- on some images it works well to draw attention to the subject. ; I sometimes darken and/or blur the corners a touch. ; But I think the darkening here may be borderline on being too heavy handed though- especially for color. ; I would also like to see this in B&W. ; Just my $.02

Here is an example of non-photoshop vignetting. ; Just some f1.2 wide open goodness.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3318/3643954789_f647e32e17_b.jpg

 

[WDWFigment]

No, I wouldn't do that. ; I was referring to comments I found constantly when trying to decide on a lens purchase, about how this lens or that lens had the dreaded vignetting in the corners.

I certainly respect both your opinion and your work, Tom. ; I may not always agree with it, but I can disagree respectfully.

Brian, I like how you try new angles and effects. ; I think it keeps things interesting.

Oh, people definitely complain about vignetting as an inherent characteristic of lenses. ; That's different than artificially introduced vignetting, which most seem to praise (somewhat contradictory, right?). ; I don't have a big problem with the natural vignetting of a lens. ; Sometimes I'll try to remove it, but most of the time, I let it be. ; I find that if vignetting is someone's biggest complaint about a lens, it must be a pretty good lens! ; Then again, I think a lot of complaints about lenses are fairly petty. ; Though, as I've stated many times, I am very far from a technical guru. ; I'd rather just take pictures I like and let others have the "fun" of criticizing glass.

 

[bmitch]

OK, so here it is in B&W and in color with no vignetting. I think I like the color one with the vignetting. I don't know why but it looks better to me.

The B&W could probably use some more PP so that it kind of has that older look to it.

Thanks Roni. I'm trying to work harder on that very thing. Hitting it from a different way that I've done it in the past.

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[hulagirl]

I like the color version better too, Brian. ; May I make a suggestion? ; How about if you crop the image closer to the castle so that it looks like it was shot in a vertical orientation and then add your vignetting. ; Would you mind trying it?

Edited to say: ; I really hope you won't mind. ; I actually love it when folks play with my images a bit. ; It's kinda neat to see how others envision things. ; I'm actually on my laptop and I don't have any of my usual stuff here, but I tried fiddling with it in iPhoto. ; This is kinda what I was thinking. ; I will be more than happy to remove it if you want me to. ; I didn't like iPhoto's vignetting so I just added a little edge blur and cropped it a bit and boosted the saturation. ; What do you think? ; Please please don't be offended. ??? ;

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[SRisonS]

Like others have said, vignetting can be good if done right. ; And like any pp technique, it'll take some practice to find out how strong to vignette, where to add it, and whether or not to even use it.

And just a suggestion, on that first shot, I'd maybe crop the picture a little and bring the vignette a little closer to the castle. ; But honestly, the picture doesn't look too bad without it. ;

 

[bmitch]

Thanks everybody. It's really cool to see how many different opinions one image can evoke.

Roni, I don't mind at all!

 

[Jeff Fillmore]

I like the color one with the vignetting. I don't know why but it looks better to me.

At the end of the day that is really what's important. ; You asked for opinions so people chimed in- but if there really is no right and wrong. ; I take pictures and process to what I find pleasing to my eye- if other people like it too then that's great- but if not then that's fine too.

 

[BorisMD]

I'm with Roni on the idea to crop the photo first. ; Add to that the light vignetting you had in the original post, and I think it works well.

Interestingly, in a recent DPS post, one of the "sins" listed was too much vignetting -- along the lines of what Tom was saying.

Jeff -- I'm curious, why did you choose f1.2 for a shot of the castle from so far away? ; I would think that would create too shallow of depth of field for that shot.

Regards,

Boris

 

[WDWFigment]

I'm with Roni on the idea to crop the photo first. ; Add to that the light vignetting you had in the original post, and I think it works well.

Interestingly, in a recent DPS post, one of the "sins" listed was too much vignetting -- along the lines of what Tom was saying.

Jeff -- I'm curious, why did you choose f1.2 for a shot of the castle from so far away? ; I would think that would create too shallow of depth of field for that shot.

Regards,

Boris

That article on DPS is too funny! ; It pretty much sums up everything I hate about post processing, although I will admit that I do over-saturate (and I will further admit that I like it and have no plans to change the practice).

http://digital-photography-school.com/10-deady-post-processing-sins

I also have to admit that for the first time ever on Friday, I processed an image using selective color. ; I have always hated it and vehemently opposed it, so I don't know why I broke down. ; In retrospect, it probably wasn't the right thing to do, and I don't know if I will be posting it...

I also wondered the same thing about Jeff's Castle shot. ; However, since he is without a doubt (in my opinion) one of the best, if not the best, Disney photographers out there, I just figured there was some reason that I couldn't think of. ; I still assume there is some reason that I can't think of.

 

[mPower]

I was guessing lack of light and the wish to not push the ISO? Or just plain 'cuz'! Either way, it's a very nice frame.

 

[Jeff Fillmore]

Jeff -- I'm curious, why did you choose f1.2 for a shot of the castle from so far away? ; I would think that would create too shallow of depth of field for that shot.

I think the lens has a lovely signature wide open- not super sharp- kind of a dreamy soft-focus look especially focused to infinity. ; And at that distance the depth of field is fine- it's only super narrow at close focus.