Vignetting Filter is not user-friendly

[pfi]

The vignetting life filter is awkward to use and it is not possible to reposition the vignette center or rotate the vignette shape.

Suggestion:

- use an ellipse as a guide following the frame of the image (20% from image border) marking 50%(?) of vignette.

- provide four handles at the widest and narrowest points on the ellipse to stretch and/or rotate the ellipse. Together with the Shift-key increase size without rotation or stretching.  Click anywhere inside the ellipse to reposition the center point anywhere within the image.

- provide control sliders for hardness (default: 60%?) and Vignette amount (default:  -1 exposure stop)

Note: It should be possible to use an Brightness and Contrast adjustment with an Elliptical Gradient tool, but that is buggy (V2.2beta) and crashes Affinity Photo - I need to play with it more...

 

[GarryP]

You can achieve a simple ‘shaped vignette’ effect by using a Rectangle, an Ellipse (or rectangle, or any other shape) and Live Gaussian Blur Filter within a Compound – see attached video.

[pfi]

I am an Affinity Photo novice and I have spent the last one and a half hours trying to do what you are demonstrating in the video. I just don't know how to get there and I'm hoping you can help.

'affinity photo 2  creating a compound' in google search returns:

- mostly 'compound mask' - which this isn't

- Affinity v1, Layers->CreateCompound - which is not in v2

- Affinity Photo v2 (Affinity Help): Layer->Geometry->Add.... - which simply compounds the selected objects, but does not create a compound as shown.

How do I do it? Where am I going wrong?

 

[GarryP]

I’ve attached a video showing how to create the vignette.

Note: Sometimes the order in which things are done, or what is selected before something is done, or the place something is dragged to makes a difference. Be careful to watch what is happening.

Note: I make the original rectangle larger than the image so that the effect of the Gaussian Blur doesn’t ‘bleed’ into the edges of the image. (By way of experimentation, try making the rectangle the same size as the image and see what happens.)

Note: When I use the Geometry Subtract function I also hold the Alt key down which creates the Compound rather than simply subtracting the shapes. (You can simply subtract the shapes but that makes it more difficult to manipulate them later.)

Note: If you are following exactly the same steps but you don’t get the same results then you might need to check your Settings / Assistant options.

If there's a certain step which isn't working for you then tell me which and I should be able to put you back on track.

[pfi]

Thanks, I can see how you do it.  In Affinity Help I somehow I completely overlooked the line that mentions 'Alt-key' and 'Toolbar'.

Again, I have learned from this. I use masks in their simpler forms and I am still struggling to fully understand them, like how shapes and selections can be turned into masks, and, like in your demonstration,  how to get Gaussian-blur to either blur the image or the edges of the image/shape.  I know, I'll get there eventually!

In your example the vignette 'hardness' is determined by the amount of Gaussian blur and is limited to 1024, and the vignette amount is determined by the opacity of the selected color (black).

I have played with using the brightness-and-contrast adjustment with an elliptical gradient tool to create vignetting.  It works well by creating two (inner) black-points and the outer white-point(s).  The problem with gradients is that they become semi-destructive once you navigate to another layer, because when you then go back, the gradient handles are gone and gradient adjustments (like gradient center, size and orientation) are no longer possible - unless you start again.  Do you know if it is possible to reclaim the handles?

Your example requires a good deal of experience an advanced understanding of what tools can be use to achieve certain effects.  You probably you can record the steps and add it to your library, which would make them easy to apply.  Using the elliptical gradient tool and brightness is just as fiddly, but cannot be recorded.

This takes me back to the point I tried to make in my 'borders' post.    I see vignetting as a fundamental tool.  Why not simply provide a vignette filter/adjustment that does vignetting well, is more user-friendly and more flexible than what is there right now? - and start with reasonable default settings.  I'm believe I am trying to help improve things from a users point of view.   If other users what to do it in a different way, that is fine, too.

 

[GarryP]

5 hours ago, pfi said:

The problem with gradients is that they become semi-destructive once you navigate to another layer, because when you then go back, the gradient handles are gone and gradient adjustments (like gradient center, size and orientation) are no longer possible - unless you start again.  Do you know if it is possible to reclaim the handles?

If you use the Gradient Tool on a Pixel Layer then the gradient becomes ‘baked in’ to the layer when you select another layer and ther’re no way to modify the gradient later (except for creating it from scratch again).

You might like to try using a Fill Layer, or adding the gradient fill to a shape, instead. (You might also, in some cases, need to re-select the Gradient Tool to get the handles back.)

5 hours ago, pfi said:

You probably you can record the steps and add it to your library, which would make them easy to apply.

Alternatively, you can create an Asset from the vignette and then just drag it into the document whenever you need it, or a version of it.

5 hours ago, pfi said:

Why not simply provide a vignette filter/adjustment that does vignetting well, is more user-friendly and more flexible than what is there right now?

You’ve made your request; all we need to do is wait and see what (if anything) happens.

[Pšenda]

On 7/30/2023 at 10:23 AM, pfi said:

The vignetting life filter is awkward to use

.. and topic title "Vignetting Filter is not user-friendly".

What is "awkward" about using a live filter? The fact that you cannot set some filter parameters (for example, the position of the vignetting center, which is somewhat against the meaning of live filters and adjustments, which are always applied to the entire layer) that you would like, has nothing to do with the skill of use and he friendliness of the UI.

[Olidoesaffinity]

Overall the Vignette works pretty well. However, I would like more control over the position of the vignette on the image. Controls for size, width, length, up and down, side to side and rotation would be greatly appreciated. Overall though. the effect works pretty well, it's almost there.