The covers and bottoms of old plate boxes in which a hole with scalloped edges has been cut answer very well. They will stand some 3/4 in. away from the negative - an essential in securing a soft vignette. The opening should be smaller than the size of the desired vignette, because the light spreads under the box. For head and shoulders, a pear shape is about the best : where thin portions of the negative occur under the vignette, cover with a plece of cotton-wool, pulling the edge loose. If the negative is thin or the light very bright, the whole should be covered with tissue paper.