To add a vignette effect, place a clear area over your subject, then darken the surrounding edges and soften the transition. In Artfkt, add Vignette, move Center, then adjust Strength, Clear radius and Feather. You can do this in the free browser demo and export a PNG.

The useful choice is how much of the photograph you want the edges to quieten. A broad, light treatment can leave the setting readable. A heavy one can become a visible frame. The examples below keep the photo, crop and exposure fixed so you can see that choice.

Compare a restrained vignette with a heavy one

This is one photograph of a poppy by Susanne Schwarz, used under the Unsplash License. The flower sits left of center against a pale gray background. That makes it easy to see both edge darkening and the position of the clear area.

The untreated orange poppy photograph, with a pale gray background and no added vignette.

Untreated source — the background is pale gray. The dark edges in the following examples are added by Vignette.

Original orange poppy left of center against a pale gray background.
Original — the pale field and off-center flower are already in the photograph.
The same poppy with softly darkened outer edges around a clear area aligned with the flower.
Strength 0.40 — the gray edges darken while the poppy stays clear.
The same poppy inside a much darker oval vignette, with more of the surrounding field obscured.
Strength 0.85 — the outer field becomes a conspicuous dark frame.

Try Vignette on your photo. It opens Vignette on the flower sample with its default settings, not this poppy photograph or the recipe below. Choose Use your own image to replace the sample while keeping the controls. Select Still for these comparisons.

Only Strength changes between the two treated versions: 0.40 and 0.85. At 0.40, the corners become quieter but the pale field remains visible. At 0.85, the dark oval is much more noticeable. Neither is a universal setting; judge the image at the size where you will share it.

Add a vignette to your own photo

  1. Open Vignette in the free demo in your browser, then choose Use your own image.
  2. Open Active FX and expand Vignette. Keep the artwork in Still so the controls do not move during comparison.
  3. Position Center over the area you want to keep clear. The effect does not find the subject for you.
  4. Adjust Clear radius to fit that area. Raise Feather for a broader transition outside it.
  5. Set Strength, compare against the source with Mix, then choose Export → PNG.

For the restrained example, we used:

  • Strength: 0.40
  • Clear radius: 0.50
  • Feather: 0.60
  • Center: X 0.38, Y 0.60 (38% across, 60% down)
  • Shape: Frame ellipse
  • Edge Color: black, #000000, at 100% opacity
  • Highlight Protection: 0
  • Mix: 100%, Normal blend

All renders are 1600 × 1033, preserving the full source framing, with animation off at time zero. These are chosen settings for this photograph, not the effect’s defaults. Strength 0 leaves the input untreated; our zero-strength render matched the original render pixel for pixel.

Move the clear center toward the subject

Center controls the vignette, not the photo’s position. Start with the clear area over the subject rather than assuming that the middle of the frame is the best place.

The poppy with a clear area centered above and to its right.
Center 0.50 / 0.50 — the clear area is in the middle of the frame.
The same poppy with the clear area moved around the off-center flower.
Center 0.38 / 0.60 — the clear area follows the flower.

The centered version leaves the brightest area above and to the right of the flower. Moving Center to 38% / 60% brings that area around the petals. The source is neither cropped nor moved. Check subjects near an edge carefully: a small clear area can darken part of the subject along with the background.

Feather the transition without blurring the photo

Feather changes how gradually the edge treatment appears; it does not blur the source image. Set Clear radius first, then use Feather to spread the transition outward from that clear area.

The poppy inside a distinct oval boundary with a narrow feather.
Feather 0.10 — the boundary is a conspicuous oval.
The same poppy with a broad gradual edge transition.
Feather 0.60 — the edge transition spreads more gradually.

At 0.10, the boundary becomes a distinct oval around the poppy. At 0.60, it spreads more gradually across the pale background. Increasing Feather does not enlarge the fully clear center; use Clear radius for that. Look at the whole photograph as well as a close view before exporting.

White edges, colored fades and bright details

Edge Color can make the treatment white or colored instead of black. It changes the edge color of existing image pixels; it does not add a separate border outside the canvas or fill transparent corners. Color opacity controls how much that color contributes.

For a shaped finish, Frame ellipse follows the frame proportions, Circle stays circular in image pixels, and Rounded rectangle follows the frame with adjustable Roundness. Roundness affects the rounded rectangle, not the ellipse or circle.

Raise Highlight Protection when bright detail near an edge should remain more visible through the treatment. It reduces the vignette’s contribution on bright source areas. It does not recover clipped highlights, identify faces, or protect an entire subject automatically.

For a harder optical-style rim with independently adjustable gradual falloff, compare Lens Vignette in the Light collection. The Vignette used here is an artistic finishing treatment, not a calibrated lens correction. Adobe’s explanation of photographic vignetting distinguishes intentional editing from dark corners caused during capture.

When to reduce or remove the vignette

Reduce Strength when the frame becomes more noticeable than the subject, or when important detail near an edge disappears. Increase Clear radius or reposition Center before adding more strength. A group spread across the frame may need a much lighter treatment than a single flower.

If you want to change bright light rather than darken the surroundings, see Halation vs Bloom. Those effects add halos or spread highlights; they solve a different visual problem. For more ways to shape existing light and edges, explore Light.

Try your image and export a PNG

Use Vignette in the free demo, replace the sample, adjust the clear area and export from Export → PNG. Selected images are processed on your device. The saved PNG is a flattened result; it does not preserve editable controls.

Choose Artfkt desktop for Mac and Windows when you want to save and revisit the composition or use the full collection library. Free-demo export is already included. Check the computer requirements before buying.

The pictured treatments were rendered with Artfkt’s production effect on the same source image. The comparisons change one control at a time; no extra exposure adjustment, color grade or crop was added.