Ditto. I will sometimes add a vignette during the raw conversion, but all too frequently, I end up cropping it a bit more as I'm playing with it w/in PS and then I use an action which I found on the net. It add's it as a layer so that you can adjust the opacity. It's easy enough to make your own action for it though since basically all you're doing is making either a circle or elipse selection then adding a feathered gray gradient fill to the inverse and adjusting the opacity.
I've found that if I want a light vignetting, I can just lightly burn the edges in Photoshop, and it looks presentable enough. - Doug Funnie
Use a lens that is too small for the camera you are using, IE: Use a 4x5 camera lens on an 8x10 camera. Or you can use hoods, but hoods make the vignetting look a little weird as it creates a different, sharper line. Also, when doing film and printing from a negative enlarger, you can cut a circular piece of black matboard and after printing your image, burn the edges slowly by moving it up and down in between the lens and paper. As for your digital needs, Photoshop or a hood seems like the only way. It should work fine though. I am sure there are some vignetting filters out there also. - Hat
I've seen people hold up a card or something with a hole in it...and shoot through that. I'm sure there are filters and yes, you could use a hood that is too small.
thanks for the help. i was asking for alternatives because i don't have photoshop (yet). thanks again!
You can easily make a vignette filter out of poster board. Cut a whole in black poster board with a jagged edge (think pinking shears) and let it protrude slightly into the lens field of view. Tape it to your lens and shoot normally.
