Polaroid pictures are now considered retro.
Before the instant gratification found with digital camera's LCD screens, consumer had instant film cameras. The Polaroid brand became synonymous with instant film. The photo quality was poor -- the lenses weren't great quality, and neither were the flashes. The flashes tended to light up just the center of the photo, leaving a circle of darker color around the photo's edges. This is known as vignetting.
Vignetting
A vignette is common on many older photos, including Polaroid photos. Pinhole photography is notorious for vignetting. If you look at photos from the late 1800s or early 1900s, most have some sort of vignette. Some professional photographers purposefully add vignette filters to their digital photos to give them a more old-world and retro feel, usually in conjunction with a sepia tone.
Photo Software
Photo software allows you to add vignettes to photos to resemble the look of a Polaroid vignette. Use a pre-set action such as Polaroid 600 Instant Film from Addicted to Design for a one-click vignette. To create one yourself, draw a circle marquee around the main image of your photo and select the inverse. Create a new layer. Select "Feather," and set it to 60 or higher. Fill the selection with black, and the edges should look gradually darker, like a black halo.
Photo Apps
If you don't have photo software but want to turn your digital photos into vignetting Polaroids, download a computer application such as Poladroid. This installs an icon on your desktop that looks like a Polaroid camera. Drag your photos to the icon, and a new window will open. It takes time to develop the photo, just like a true Polaroid picture. The application adds vignetting as well as aging looks, such as fingerprints and scratches. It also adds a border to the photo as if it were printed on Polaroid paper.
Remove Vignetting
If you have scanned a Polaroid picture and want to remove the vignette, photo editing software can help. In Photoshop, for example, go to the "Filter" menu and choose "Distort." Select "Lens Correction." In the Vignette box, adjust the "Amount" slider to the right to lighten the edges of the photo. Play with the "Midpoint" slider as well to push the dark areas farther to the outer edges of the photo. This may allow you to crop out the dark corners if the "Amount" slider can't completely remove the vignette. If all else fails, purchase a picture frame with a circle or oval opening to display your photo -- this will hide the dark edges on the printed piece.
Tags: Amount slider, digital photos, edges photo, instant film, Polaroid picture
