Piuctures with dark corners?

Hi all, newbie here-great site!!

Been looking at some pics on here and noticed some of them have very dark corners or that the sky gets very dark towards the top of the picture, yet when people comment on the pictures they rave and say they are good? So is this a deliberate effect that the taker wanted? To me it looks bad IMHO, and not natural?

It's called vignetting.

From wikipedia

From a purists perspective it is considered a bad thing, often the product of the image a lens produces not being big enough to cover the whole sensor (or film) in an SLR.

The interesting thing is that although this effect is often seen as a poor quality of a lens, some people like the effect and use it artistically.

I think it can be used well, but it is far too often over used. But it doesnt necisarily make it a bad picture, its just personal taste.

Hmmmm o.k, well I mustbe one of the people who dont like it. I think it looks terrible, No offense to the following guy but this is what Im talking about-nearly every one of the photos has vignetting. The reason I was confused is becasue he seems to be a senior/experianced photographer so maybe thats how they are meant to be in his opinion?

http://www.pbase.com/l​es_mclean/image/766111​70

There is definitely a time to use some vignetting to really make your subject standout. With lightroom or PS you can make it so that it is subtle enough you won't notice sky or anything being darkened.
I totally agree with you that it is over-used. You need to have an eye and be ARTISTIC. Art doesn't mean do the same thing everytime just because it worked once. I have friends that are wedding photographers and they always vignette, I've been trying in vain to get them to "see the light" or at least allow their pictures to have some .
Especially on sky it is very annoying. Except in a very few instances, sky should be EPIC! Its big, pretty and deserves some breathing room. And most everyone percieves the sky the same, so it really seems jarring when you've got it penned in artificially by a bunch of black corners.

x7dayzx wrote in post #4913146
Especially on sky it is very annoying. Except in a very few instances, sky should be EPIC! Its big, pretty and deserves some breathing room. And most everyone percieves the sky the same, so it really seems jarring when you've got it penned in artificially by a bunch of black corners.

Exactly-I think it gives a very claustrophobic (sp?) feel to have the sky vignetting...I really dont like it..

Looking at the photo you supplied it could be possible the Vignetting is caused by the ultra wide angle lens used with the inclusion of a polarising filter. But I don't think i've seen it that extreme before.

i add a vignette to many of my photos, but i dont overdo it like in that pic you linked. i try not to make the light-to-dark gradient noticable. vignetting from the lens itself also looks better than pp-added vignettes, at least imo.

for example, here is a pic i was working on last night where i added a vignette.

http://farm3.static.fl​ickr.com …2261495703_f581​80d3f9.jpg

I deliberately vignette the majority of my wedding, portrait and event photos. I vary the amount of vignette per picture, but it's part of my PP style and does a great job of making the subject of my photos pop a little more than they would otherwise.

I'm certainly not about to change. Obviously pictures that really look bad vignetted get it removed.

The darkening of the sky as you go from the horizon to the zenith is a natural phenomenon. At higher altitudes (No, not in outer space...) the sky can go very, very dark turning nearly black.

It always seems to come as a suprise to people when they get their first really wide angle lens or move to FF with what was a "normal" POV that is now as wide as it was intended to be.

Yes but these photos are taken at sea level-I have NEVER seen the sky on the horizon turn from blue to black directly above my head....? Arent photos supposed to catch what we 'see'? Arnt our eyes a million times better than the best camera? Like I said if people do it on purpose for effect well thats their choice, otherwise it just looks silly IMHO

The camera doesn't lie. Just an opinion, but I think the brain "post processes" on the fly and our eyes adjust on the fly as well. The camera iris is fixed at one aperture when an image is recorded so the change in light level and quality is fixed such that if you expose for the horizon, the zenith will be much darker. Conversely, if you expose for "high noon" then your light levels at the horizon will be excessive.

As I said before, atmospherics and locale will have an affect on this effect.

Every photograph you take is processed in some way, either by the camera with its default AWB, saturation, contrast, sharpness, etc. or by you afterwards. So capturing what your eyes "see" is a little less definite than you might think.

Vignetting is usually as far as I go in terms of "special effects", but some lenses vignette naturally (I have a Peleng fisheye that does it all the time) so even this fits into what I would call pretty authentic processing.

If it doesn't grab you, don't use it.

However it cam also be an unwanted effect form a polarising filter.