Creating the Vignette

Lomo photos have a strong and noticeable vignette. We’ll start off by adding a strong vignette to the photo.

Step 1

Open a photo to edit.

Image from iStockPhoto


Step 2

Follow the steps below according to the version of Photoshop you’re using:
  • For Photoshop CS2:
    1. Choose Filter> Distort> Lens Correction.
    2. Inside the Lens Correction filter, adjust the settings in the Vignette section to create the vignette.

      Adding a vignette with the Lens Correction filter in Adobe Photoshop CS2.

  • For Photoshop CS or older:
    1. Create a new layer and select the new layer.
    2. Use the Lasso tool and create an oval selection. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
    3. Inverse the selection (Select> Inverse or Shift+Ctrl+I).
    4. Press Shift+Backspace to open the Fill tool. In the Fill tool, set the contents to Black and click OK.
    5. Deselect (Select> Deselect or Ctrl+D).
    6. Open the Gaussian Blur filter tool (Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur). In the Gaussian Blur window, ensure that the Preview checkbox is checked and adjust the Radius to blur the edges so that a vignette is created.
    7. Reduce the opacity a little. An opacity around 75% should produce good results.