Question

I’m trying to replicate the CSS ‘Vignette’ effect, detailed on Trent Walton’s site.

.vignette1 {
  box-shadow:inset 0px 0px 85px rgba(0,0,0,.5);
  -webkit-box-shadow:inset 0px 0px 85px rgba(0,0,0,.5);
  -moz-box-shadow:inset 0px 0px 85px rgba(0,0,0,.5);
  float: left;
}

.vignette1 img {
  margin: 0;
  position: relative;
  z-index: -1;

  width: 320px;
  height: 247px;
}

It works well in isolation, but has problems on my production site, where the background settings for a parent div override the z-index on the image – live jsFiddle demo here.

The second approach – mentioned in the original article’s comments and included in the demo – works well, but my image has to be wrapped in the tag – it can’t be below it.

Answer 1

In the end I found the’ Overlay & Inset Method’, the second of Jordon Dobsons’s techniques to be the most effective and least reliant on negative z-indexes:

/* Border & Vignette Setup */

    figure{
      position:               relative;
      display:                block;
      line-height:            0;
      width:                  500px;
      height:                 333px;
      margin-bottom:          2em;
      border:                 1em solid #fff;
      -webkit-box-shadow:     0 .1em .3em rgba(0,0,0,.25);
      -moz-box-shadow:        0 .1em .3em rgba(0,0,0,.25);
    }

    figure::before{
      content:                "";
      position:               absolute;
      top:                    -1em;
      bottom:                 -1em;
      left:                   -1em;
      right:                  -1em;

    }

    figure::before,
    figure img{
      outline:                1px solid #ccc;    
    }

    figure.vignette img{
      z-index:                1;
      position:               relative;
      display:                block;
      width:                  100%;
      height:                 100%;

    }

/* Overlay & Inset Method */

    figure.overlay.inset::after{

    /* Mozilla Settings */
      -moz-box-shadow:        inset 0 0 150px rgba(0,0,0,.75);    

    /* Webkit Setting */
      -webkit-box-shadow:     inset 0 0 150px rgba(0,0,0,.75);
    }

(jsFiddle demo using original layout)