vignetting

thumb|210px|right|A vignette is often added to an image to draw interest to the center and to frame the center portion of the photo. thumb|right|210px|Vignetting is a common feature of photographs produced by toy cameras such as this shot taken with a [[Holga.]] thumb|right|210px|This example shows both vignetting and restricted field of view (FOV). Here a "[[point-and-shoot camera" is used together with a microscope to create this image. Pronounced vignetting (fall off in brightness towards the edge) is visible as the optical system is not well adapted. A further circular restriction of the FOV is visible (the black area in the image).]]

In photography and optics, vignetting ( ) is a reduction of an image's brightness or saturation toward the periphery compared to the image center. The word vignette, from the same root as vine, originally referred to a decorative border in a book. Later, the word came to be used for a photographic portrait that is clear at the center and fades off toward the edges. A similar effect is visible in photographs of projected images or videos off a projection screen, resulting in a so-called "hotspot" effect.