How it works
The Image Vignette tool adds a darkened or lightened edge effect that gradually fades from the borders inward, drawing the viewer's eye toward the center. Vignette is a classic photographic effect used in portrait photography, film photography emulation, and Instagram-style editing.
A vignette is the gradual darkening of the corners and edges of an image toward a bright or neutral center. It mimics the natural light falloff of camera lenses (especially older or low-quality lenses) and is used intentionally in portrait and artistic photography to focus attention on the subject.
How to use it: upload your image. Set the vignette intensity (0–100%), the feather radius (how gradually the effect transitions from edge to center), and the shape (circular for portraits, rectangular for wide images). Toggle between dark vignette (the classic look) and light vignette (a fade-to-white effect for high-key photography). Download.
Intensity guide: 10–20% adds a subtle, natural-looking vignette that viewers won't consciously notice. 30–50% creates a visible, stylistic vignette. 60–100% is a dramatic, heavy vignette for artistic use.
Color options: the default vignette is black (darkening the edges). You can choose any color — a brown or sepia vignette is popular for vintage effects, a white vignette creates the airy, high-key portrait look.
The vignette is generated as a radial gradient applied over the image with the configurable blend mode. Dark vignette uses multiply blend, light vignette uses screen blend — both are implemented via Canvas compositing.
Privacy: vignette rendering runs in the Canvas API. No image is uploaded.
Frequently Asked Questions
- 10–20% intensity looks natural — most viewers won't consciously notice it, but it subtly draws the eye inward. 30–50% is a visible, stylistic vignette that adds drama. Above 60%, the vignette is heavy and cinematic — use it intentionally as a design choice, not as a correction.
- Use circular (elliptical) vignette for portraits and square compositions — it matches the natural lens falloff pattern. Use rectangular vignette for wide panoramic images and widescreen video frames — a circular vignette on a 16:9 image would noticeably darken the left and right edges. Choose the shape that matches your content.
- Yes. Toggle Light Vignette mode for a white (or any color) vignette that fades to bright at the edges. This creates a high-key, airy aesthetic popular in newborn photography, product shots on white backgrounds, and editorial fashion photography.
- Slightly, for JPG. A vignette adds a smooth gradient toward the edges. Smooth gradients compress well, so the file size increase is minimal (1–5%). For PNG, the gradient adds complexity and may increase file size more noticeably.