This post is about one technique photographers use to draw the viewers eye into the portrait. When composing macro images, sometimes the photographer chooses to include an out of focus element in the foreground. This is called a vignette.
Notice how the purple coral is out of focus and how that pulls the eye into the upside down crab. The out of focus crinoid on the left has the same affect but also is is part of the crabs environment and supports the overall portrait created.
In this portrait the vignette is more subtle, but just as effective in drawing the eye into the subject, which in this case is an Emperor Shrimp. Learn about this technique as well as others in a Private Photography Workshop.