Creating a Vignette in Photoshop

Make an old-fashioned oval portrait of yourself...

	Introduction
	In this project you will be learning how to use a network file server as well as how to perform some simple tasks in Adobe Photoshop®. (NOTE: If anything goes wrong at any time, go at once to the Edit menu and Undo, or Z. This corrects the last action you took.).
	Accessing the File Server
	Click on the Go menu in the top left corner of your screen or desktop. Select Connect to Server. In the left column of the window, click Local. The right half of the window will display a number of networked computers. Scroll down and double-click on Publications Lab Server. Click on the Guest and Connect buttons. Click on the appropriate “Mr. Collette” folder, depending on the period you are in. Click OK. In a few seconds, the globe icon will appear on the screen... Double-click the icon. It will open a window. Now you must create a personal folder in it. Hold down the shift key, the Apple key and N key at the same time, then release. An untitled folder will appear in the window. The word untitled is already highlighted, so all you have to do is type your name and hit the Enter key to personalize it.
	Working in Photoshop
	Next, locate your picture in the Photos folder, drag it to your new folder and drop it there. Then drag the same file to the bottom of the screen. The Dock will slide up from the bottom. Run the mouse across the Dock until you find Adobe Photoshop. Click the icon.
	Adjusting Contrast Levels
	When your picture has opened, type the Apple and letter L keys down. You will see a window much like the one at left... The box with the black “mountain” in it is called a histogram. Under the histogram are three triangular sliders, black at left, gray in the middle and white on the right. If the mountain doesn't fill the entire histogram, click the white slider and move it to the left until it is just to the right of the area on the histogram where the black “mountain” drops to the bottom. Do the same if necessary, in the reverse direction, to the black slider. Click OK.
	Drawing Your Oval
	Next, create your vignette. In the upper left corner of the toolbox, click this button... It's called the marquee tool. If it’s rectangular, click and hold on it. Hidden selections will open. Slide over to the round tool (Elliptical) and let go the mouse button. Now go to this toolbar at the top of the screen... Highlight the space next to the word Feather, type the numeral 10 and hit Enter.
	Finish Your Vignette
	Now you’ll draw an oval marquee. On your picture, click the mouse above and to the left of your head and move diagonally down and right. Let go the mouse button. To move the marquee, simply click inside it and adjust position. To redraw it, click once outside it and start over. A good vignette should show the head and neck and have some head room. Once you are satisfied with your marquee, go to the Select menu and choose Inverse, then press the delete key. Your vignette is finished, and should look about like this: Now hit and W to close out your work and then hit Enter to save it. Close all windows on the desktop screen and move the “Mr. Collette” globe into the Trash can to log off the server.