Before Changes
After Changes
This tutorial is to help you learn how to darken the edges of a photo like a professional. I’m sure many of you have seen the photos for sale that have darkened corners to accent the subject of the image. This technique can make most amateur photos look very professional. Ok, once you have your picture open in photoshop:
1. First of all I would recommend making a copy of the background layer so in case you mess up you can start over. Your Layer menu should look like the image on the left.
2. Pick a good size paintbrush and the color black, then down the opacity to around 10%.
3. Then carefully brush over the corner. Try to make the very corner darker than the rest so it looks blended.
4. You may have to lower the opacity to blend the outer edge as I did on the left. Once you get one corner done, do the other three.
Keep in mind that this isn’t an exact science. You will probably make mistakes and have do redo it a couple times in order to get the right effect. Many photographers do it differently, try to end up with whatever you think looks the best.
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Actually, to get a more consistent, better look, you should create a new layer then use your gradient tool, choose the circle, then the black to white gradient with 0 opacity on the white side. then drag from the inside out, then take that layer and reduce the opacity to the percentage that best suites what you desire, like or need!