# Vignetting > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Vignetting > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Vignetting.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vignetting > Source revision: 1337304399 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Darkening an image's periphery versus the center This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) A vignette is often added to an image to draw interest to the center and to frame the center portion of the photo. Vignetting is a common feature of photographs produced by [toy cameras](/source/Toy_camera) such as this shot taken with a [Holga](/source/Holga). This example shows both vignetting and restricted [field of view](/source/Field_of_view) (FOV). Here a "[point-and-shoot camera](/source/Point-and-shoot_camera)" is used together with a [microscope](/source/Microscope) to create this image. Pronounced vignetting (fall off in brightness towards the edge) is visible as the optical system is not well adapted. A further circular restriction of the FOV is visible (the black area in the image). In [photography](/source/Photography) and [optics](/source/Optics), **vignetting** ([/vɪnˈjɛtɪŋ/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) [*vin-YET-ing*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key)) is a reduction of an image's [brightness](/source/Brightness) or [saturation](/source/Saturation_(color_theory)) toward the [periphery](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/periphery) compared to the image center. The word *[vignette](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vignette)*, from the same root as *[vine](/source/Vine)*, originally referred to a decorative border in a book. Later, the word came to be used for a [photographic portrait](/source/Portrait_photography) that is clear at the center and fades off toward the edges. A similar effect is visible in photographs of [projected](/source/Projector) [images](/source/Slide_projector) or [videos](/source/Video_projector) off a [projection screen](/source/Projection_screen), resulting in a so-called "hotspot" effect. Vignetting is often an unintended and undesired effect caused by [camera](/source/Camera) settings or [lens](/source/Lens_(optics)) limitations. However, it is sometimes deliberately introduced for creative effect, such as to draw attention to the center of the frame. A photographer may deliberately choose a lens that is known to produce vignetting to obtain the effect, or it may be introduced with the use of special [filters](/source/Filter_(photography)) or [post-processing](/source/Image_processing) procedures. When using [zoom lenses](/source/Zoom_lens), vignetting may occur all along the zoom range, depending on the [aperture](/source/Aperture) and the [focal length](/source/Focal_length). However, it may not always be visible, except at the widest end (the shortest focal length). In these cases, vignetting may cause an [exposure value](/source/Exposure_value) (EV) difference of up to 3EV.[1] ## Causes There are several causes of vignetting. Sidney F. Ray[2] distinguishes the following types: - Mechanical vignetting - Optical vignetting - Natural vignetting A fourth cause is unique to digital imaging: - Pixel vignetting ### Mechanical vignetting Mechanical vignetting occurs when light beams emanating from object points located off-axis (laterally or vertically off from the optical axis of an optical system under consideration) are partially blocked by external objects of the optical system such as thick or stacked filters, secondary lenses, and improper lens hoods. This has the effect of changing the [entrance pupil](/source/Entrance_pupil) shape as a function of angle (resulting in the path of light being partially blocked). Darkening can be gradual or abrupt – the smaller the aperture, the more abrupt the vignetting as a function of angle. When some points on an image receives no light at all due to mechanical vignetting (the paths of light to these image points is completely blocked), then this results in a restriction of the [Field of View](/source/Field_of_view) (FOV) – parts of the image are then completely black. ### Optical vignetting This type of vignetting is caused by the physical dimensions of a multiple element lens. Rear elements of the lens are shaded by elements in front of them, which reduces the effective lens opening for off-axis incident light. The result is a gradual decrease in light intensity towards the image periphery. Optical vignetting is sensitive to the lens [aperture](/source/Aperture) and can often be cured by a reduction in aperture of 2–3 stops. (An *increase* in the [F-number](/source/F-number).) ### Natural vignetting Unlike the previous types, natural vignetting (also known as natural illumination falloff) is not due to the blocking of light rays. The falloff is approximated by the cos4 or "cosine fourth" law of illumination fall off. Here, the light fall off is proportional to the fourth power of the [cosine](/source/Cosine) of the angle at which the light impinges on the film or [sensor array](/source/Sensor_array). Wide angle rangefinder designs and the lens designs used in compact cameras are particularly prone to natural vignetting. Telephoto lenses, [retrofocus](/source/Angenieux_retrofocus) wide angle lenses used on [SLR](/source/Single-lens_reflex_camera) cameras, and [telecentric](/source/Telecentric_lens) designs in general are less troubled by natural vignetting. A gradual grey filter or postprocessing techniques may be used to compensate for natural vignetting, as it cannot be cured by stopping down the lens. Some modern lenses are specifically designed so that the light strikes the image perpendicular or nearly so, eliminating or greatly reducing vignetting. ### Pixel vignetting In digital cameras, light that strikes a pixel in the camera's image sensor perpendicular to its surface produces a stronger signal than light hitting it at an oblique angle. This creates a fall-off with angle in addition to natural vignetting. Most digital cameras use built-in image processing to compensate for optical vignetting and pixel vignetting when converting raw sensor data to standard image formats such as [JPEG](/source/JPEG) or [TIFF](/source/TIFF). The use of offset [microlenses](/source/Microlens) over the image sensor can also reduce the effect of pixel vignetting. Vignetting can be used to artistic effect, as demonstrated in this panorama. ## Post-shoot Vignetting can be applied in the post-shoot phase with [digital imaging](/source/Digital_imaging) software. Vignetting is sometimes applied to an otherwise un-vignetted photograph by [burning](/source/Dodging_and_burning) the outer edges of the photograph (with film stock) or using digital imaging techniques, such as masking darkened edges. The Lens Correction filter in [Photoshop](/source/Photoshop) can be used for this. This can be done for artistic effect, to create a [low fidelity](/source/Low_fidelity_(photography)) or 'retro' appearance in the picture. Post-shoot vignetting can also be used more subtly, to guide the viewer's eyes to an intended center of interest in the photograph. A barely perceptible darkening of bright features near the edges of an image can "fence off" the bright area and keep the viewer's eyes where the photographer wants, without the vignetting being obvious. ## See also - [Dodging and burning](/source/Dodging_and_burning) - [Feathering](/source/Feathering) - [Flat-field correction](/source/Flat-field_correction) - [Metering mode](/source/Metering_mode) - [Vignette (philately)](/source/Vignette_(philately)) ## Footnotes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Canon EF 24-70 mm f/2.8L II USM review - Vignetting"](https://www.lenstip.com/358.8-Lens_review-Canon_EF_24-70_mm_f_2.8L_II_USM_Vignetting.html). *LensTip.com*. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Sidney F. Ray, Applied photographic optics, 3rd ed., Focal Press (2002) [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-240-51540-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-240-51540-3). ## References - Catrysse, Peter B.; Xinqiao Liu, and Abbas El Gamal: "[QE Reduction due to Pixel Vignetting in CMOS Image Sensors](http://www-isl.stanford.edu/groups/elgamal/abbas_publications/C074.pdf)"; [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080307100137/http://www-isl.stanford.edu/groups/elgamal/abbas_publications/C074.pdf) 2008-03-07 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine); in Morley M. Blouke, Nitin Sampat, George M. Williams Jr., Thomas Yeh (ed.): *Sensors and Camera Systems for Scientific, Industrial, and Digital Photography Applications*, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 3965 (2000). - Olsen, Doug; Dou, Changyong; Zhang, Xiaodong; Hu, Lianbo; Kim, Hojin; Hildum, Edward. 2010. "[Radiometric Calibration for AgCam](https://web.archive.org/web/20100212224652/https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/2/2/464/pdf)" *Remote Sens.* 2, no. 2: 464–477. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3390/rs2020464](https://doi.org/10.3390%2Frs2020464) - Zheng, Yuanjie; Stephen Lin, and [Sing Bing Kang](/source/Sing_Bing_Kang), [Single-Image Vignetting Correction](https://web.archive.org/web/20110605130544/http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/people/stevelin/vignetting.pdf); IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition 2006 v t e Photography Equipment Camera Box camera light-field digital field instant phone pinhole press rangefinder SLR still TLR toy view Darkroom enlarger safelight Film base format holder stock available films discontinued films Filter Flash beauty dish cucoloris gobo hot shoe lens hood monolight reflector snoot softbox Lens long-focus prime zoom wide-angle fisheye swivel telephoto Manufacturers Monopod Movie projector Slide projector Tripod head Zone plate Terminology 35 mm equivalent focal length Abbreviations list Angle of view Aperture Backscatter Black and white Chromatic aberration Circle of confusion Clipping Color balance Color temperature Depth of field Depth of focus Exposure Exposure compensation Exposure value Zebra patterning F-number Film format large medium Film speed Focal length Guide number Hyperfocal distance Lens flare Metering mode Perspective distortion Telephoto compression Photograph Photographic printing Albumen Photographic processes Reciprocity Red-eye effect Science of photography Shutter speed Sync Zone System Genres Abstract Aerial Aircraft Architectural Astrophotography Banquet Candid Conceptual Conservation Cloudscape Documentary Eclipse Ethnographic Erotic Fashion Fine-art Fire Fireworks Forensic Glamour High-speed Landscape Monochrome Nature Neues Sehen Nude Photojournalism Pictorialism Pornography Portrait Post-mortem Ruins Selfie space selfie Social documentary Sports Still life Stock Straight photography Street Underwater Vernacular Wedding Wildlife Techniques Afocal Blur Bokeh Bracketing Brenizer Burst mode Combination printing Contre-jour Crittercam (Pigeon photography) ETTR Fill flash Focus stacking Hand-colouring Harris shutter High-speed Holography Infrared Intentional camera movement Kirlian Kite aerial Lo-fi photography Lomography Long-exposure Luminogram Macro Manipulation Mordançage Multiple exposure Multi-exposure HDR capture Night Panning Panoramic Photogram Photomontage Print toning Redscale Rephotography Rollout Scanography Schlieren photography Sabattier effect Slow motion Stereoscopy Stopping down Strip Slit-scan Sprocket hole Sun printing Tilt–shift Miniature faking Time-lapse Ultraviolet Vignetting Xerography Zoom burst Composition Diagonal method Framing Headroom Lead room Rule of thirds Simplicity Golden triangle (composition) History Timeline of photography technology Albumen print Ambrotype Analog (film) photography Autochrome Lumière Calotype Camera obscura Daguerreotype Dufaycolor Heliography Lippmann plate Painted photography backdrops Photography and the law Photographic plate Salt print Tintype Visual arts Regional Albania Australia Bangladesh Canada China Colombia Denmark Greece India Japan Korea Luxembourg New Zealand Norway Philippines Serbia Slovenia Sudan Taiwan Turkey Ukraine United States Uzbekistan Vietnam Digital photography Digital camera D-SLR MILC camera back Digiscoping Comparison of digital and film photography Film scanner Image sensor CMOS APS CCD Three-CCD camera Foveon X3 sensor Photo response non-uniformity Image sharing Pixel Color photography Print film Chromogenic print Reversal film Color management color space primary color CMYK color model RGB color model Photographic processing Anthotype Bleach bypass C-41 process Carbon print Collodion process Cross processing Cyanotype Developer Digital image processing Dye coupler E-6 process Fixer Gelatin silver print Gum printing Instant film K-14 process Photogravure Print permanence Push processing Salt print Stop bath Lists Largest photographs Most expensive photographs Museums devoted to one photographer Photographs considered the most important Photographers Norwegian Polish street women Photography periodicals Related Conservation and restoration of photographs film photographic plates Polaroid art Stereoscopy Say cheese --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Vignetting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vignetting) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vignetting?action=history)). 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