Vignetting
Also known as: vignette, lens vignetting, corner shading, light falloff
Vignetting is the darkening of an image toward its corners and edges compared with the center. It is usually a lens effect — less light reaches the edges of the frame — though it is also added deliberately in editing to draw the eye toward the subject.
- Darkening toward the corners and edges
- Usually optical light falloff; can be added in editing
- Often auto-corrected with a lens profile
Why corners go dark
Most vignetting is optical: a lens delivers less light to the edges of the sensor than to the center, so corners come out dimmer. It is strongest with wide apertures and wide-angle lenses, and it can also be caused by a lens hood or filter physically blocking the frame.
Cameras and phones often correct vignetting automatically using a lens profile, brightening the corners back to match the center. RAW files may show the uncorrected falloff until a profile is applied in editing.
Effect vs flaw
Mild vignetting is frequently added on purpose in editing to subtly frame a subject and pull the eye inward. Heavy, uneven darkening is usually unwanted and reads as a lens or accessory problem rather than a creative choice.
Vignetting is a tonal effect, so it has no real impact on file size — it changes how corners look, not how many pixels are stored.