1. Open a photo.
2. Select the Elliptical Marquee Tool.
3. Click and drag across the image to select the area of the photo you want to keep.
4. Go to Select > Feather and enter a radius amount. A value between 20-50 works well. The higher the value, the softer the fade will be.
5. Go to Select > Inverse.
6. If you want a background color other than white, black or gray, choose the color in the toolbox now.
7. Go to Edit > Fill and select a color or pattern to fill in the background.
8. Go to Select > Deselect.

1. Be sure to save under a different name so you don't overwrite your original.
2. After step 4, you can optionally copy and paste the feathered selection to another image.
3. There is a one-click Vignette in the effects palette of Photoshop Elements, but by learning the manual method, you have control over the softness of the fade and the background contents.
4. New: See my updated tutorial on how to create a vignette effect non-destructively.

For more instructional and troubleshooting information, visit Photoshop Elements Help & Support.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 8

   

Elements 8 Help

Elements Organizer
Photoshop Elements Editor
Premiere Elements Editor
Using Photoshop Elements 8 Editor

Getting started with Adobe Photoshop Elements
Photoshop Elements workspace
Working in the Editor
Using layers
Camera raw files
Selecting parts of an image
Color and tonal correction
Cropping, resizing, retouching, and transforming photos
Understanding color
Filters, effects, styles, and artwork
Effects
Filters
Artistic filters
Blur filters
Brush Stroke filters
Distort filters
Noise filters
Pixelate filters
Render filters
Sketch filters
Stylize filters
Diffuse
Emboss
Extrude
Find Edges
Glowing Edges
Solarize
Tiles
Trace Contour
Wind
Texture filters
Video filters
Other filters
Painting
Adding text and shapes
Creating projects in the Editor
Optimizing for the web
Printing and sharing photos
Photoshop Elements Editor keyboard shortcuts
Glossary
Legal notices

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