Ron Leach

If you're a regular visitor to the Shutterbug website you know that we frequently post tutorials on attaining fast and precise focus. That's because many of our favorite instructors have a personal technique that differ from others, and it's worth giving them all a try until you find a method that works best for you.

Christmas festivities are just three weeks away, and many folks have already decorated their homes with colorful lights and interesting objects. This means it's time to bone up on your skills and do a bit of practicing as the special season unfolds.

Last month we took a deep dive into Lightroom's Tone Curves, explaining several advanced techniques. But there are also easier ways that less-experienced users can harness the power of these editing tools as you'll see in the following video tutorial from the popular Signature Edits YouTube channel.

Adding a subtle vignette to an image is a great way to finish up an edit and an effective method for focusing a viewer's attention on the central portion of your scene. But here's the rub: While most processing software includes sliders that allow you to easily apply this effect, the results you achieve by taking this approach are often disappointing.