A fellow user on PBase has asked me how to get this “antique effect”, which is actually called “vignette effect” using Photoshop. (“Antique effect” is totally different from this.) If one is using a studio flash, (not an on camera flash), there is a snoot called a “honeycomb snoot” that fits on the end of the studio flash head that directs and softens the light on the subject to create this effect. There are also many different filters one can screw onto the lens of the camera to produce this same effect. (I use Cokin brand filters exclusively, but they are quite expensive.) If you don’t have the mega money to purchase the snoots and / or filters, the exact same effect can be created in Photoshop in a matter of seconds. It took me exactly 37 seconds to open, touch up, modify, resize and save this image.

An advantage of using Photoshop is the effect can be added to ANY image, even when (as in this case) no flash was used at all. The light used to expose this image was a simple floor lamp and an open window behind me to put the highlight in Brandi’s eyes.