How to Apply a Vignette to a Picture in Photoshop
Vignetting refers to soft, darkened corners in photographs. The vignette can be accidental and is often caused by elements of the lens casting shadows on inner elements---frequently, the lens hood is the culprit. Vignettes may also be intentional, and photographers can use a vignette to draw the viewer's eye to the center of the photo and create a natural, soft border around the subject. While there are methods to create a vignette optically, creating one in Photoshop after taking the image allows for a wider degree of flexibility and control, and can be preferable to the older techniques.
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Instructions
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Open the photograph you wish to add a vignette to by clicking on the "File" menu option in the toolbar and selecting "Open." An explorer window will pop up. In this window, search for the photograph you want to open, click on it and then click the "Open" button.
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Click and hold the mouse button down over the Marquee Tool until a pop-up box of options appears. Click on the "Elliptical Marquee Tool" option.
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Drag your selection box from the upper-left corner of the image to the bottom-right corner. This will create a large oval in the center of the image.
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Click on "Select" in the toolbar and click the option "Inverse" to invert the selection.
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Click the "Edit in Quick Mask Mode" button or press Q on your keyboard to create a mask. A large, red oval will appear in the center of your image. This oval will disappear before you are done editing.
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Choose "Filter" from the toolbar to open the filter drop-down menu. Select "Blur" and then "Gaussian Blur."
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Enter a fairly large number in the "Radius" box, such as 60. Lower numbers will make a harsher transition between the light and dark areas of the image and vignette, while a smaller number will create a softer transition.
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Click the "Edit in Standard Mode" button or press Q on your keyboard to leave quick mask mode. The large, red oval will disappear.
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Choose "Image" from the toolbar, and select "Adjustments" then "Levels." A dialogue box will pop up.
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Slide the white triangle at the right side of the Output Levels box to the left. Alternatively, you can enter a smaller number in the box on the right side. A value of approximately 80 will work, but you can increase or decrease the number (or slide the white triangle left or right) to lighten or darken the vignette.
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Tips & Warnings
Subtle vignettes are typically better than obvious, dark vignettes. Remember that a vignette is used to focus the eye on the subject of the photograph. If the vignette is too dark, it will instead distract your viewer's eye.
