Are there distracting shadows ruining your photographs?

Unfortunately, shadows are a constant challenge for photographers. Fortunately, there are quite a few easy but effective fixes.

To start, what is causing the shadow? That’s easy, it’s when light is hitting your photo subject and not hitting the backdrop behind them.

Not to state the obvious, but if you have a problem with shadows falling on the background, the most basic fix is to remove the background. TaaDaa! If there is no background for the shadow to fall on…there’s no visible shadow.

So, the first fix in our shadow removal arsenal is to remove the backdrop – if possible.

If your session is being shot outdoors, just move your model so that there’s no background behind them. Not too difficult.

If you are indoors, obviously you can’t take down the walls, but you can move the subject further away from them! Shoot them closer to the middle of the room instead of right up against the wall and your ugly shadow problems will disappear.

The second way to approach the problem is to position a light to illuminate the background.

When using “studio” type lighting…just get your model lit the way you like and then add in another light source that lights up the backdrop and totally misses the model.

Adding the extra light can be more than just a shadow remover. By adding in scrims, cookies and colored gels to modify the light, it becomes a part of the design of the photo. The modifiers will throw colors, patterns and shapes on your backdrop.

The way to think of light and shadow is this…light is like a billiards ball. When you roll a billiards ball into a cushion, the ball will bounce off. The key is, it will bounce off at the same angle it struck to cushion. (Remember this the next time you are trying to eliminate glare from eyeglasses.)

The shadow on the other hand, is ALWAYS directly in line with the light. So, you can minimize the shadow problem by changing the angle of the lights so that the shadow falls into an area that won’t show in the final photo.

Indoors, with a studio light setup, just move the lights around until you find the optimal angle. Outside, you have to move your model around until the light is coming from the right direction. Reflectors can help too! you can change the angle of light when using an on camera flash by bouncing it off a wall or the ceiling. Just be sure the wall or ceiling are not painted a color that will throw an odd color cast on your model.

The final intensity and harshness of a shadow is determined by the size and strength of the light source, relative to the subject.

If you lower the intensity of the light, that will also lower the intensity of the associated shadow. It will still be there, but you may be able to minimize its’ distracting effect.

Moving the light further from the model or reducing the lights’ power are two simple ways to lower the intensity of light hitting your subject.

Another option is to increase the size of a light relative to the model. This makes the light wrap around them and minimizes the shadow. You can make a light bigger with umbrellas, reflectors and softboxes.

You can consider a softbox or an umbrella as being like a cloud. When a cloud moves between the sun and your subject, the entire cloud becomes the light source. This obviously is a much larger light than just the sun by itself. The light wraps around the model and minimizes the shadow. Go outside and observe shadows from the sun and from a cloud. You’ll see a huge difference.

Light, diffusion and shadows are the subjects of many books. This article is only a beginning. go to the library and read a few books on the subject, you’ll be glad you did.

Shoot well.

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