Mark S. Johnson Photography

When a subject grabs your eye and you pick up your camera, the photographic process begins. Your goal from this point forward is to frame the subject to include only those elements which strengthen the photograph while excluding those that don’t. In some cases, such as when the subject is moving, it may not be possible to exclude all elements that detract from the composition. In these cases, it’s possible to reduce the impact of these less-than-desirable elements using a blur vignette. In this Workbench, I’ll show you how to create a blur vignette and how to control its edge. Along the way, I’ll also demonstrate two other methods for drawing attention to what’s most meaningful in the photograph.

Here’s this week’s inspirational tip. If you’re interested in black and white photography, be sure to check out William Neill’s wonderful new digital edition book called Meditations in Monochrome. In this eBook, Bill revisits his roots of photographic inspiration by converting several of his classic images from color to black and white using Photoshop. The work is absolutely stunning. You can find his book at www.williamneill.com.