Lighting matters most in photos. Good lighting makes photos look beautiful, while bad lighting causes annoying shadows. Shadows can spoil a great picture. They make it dull, hide the subject, and confuse the viewer. Knowing how to remove shadows from a photo is crucial. Today, there are many tools to help you, making it easier than ever. Whether using a phone or computer, this guide will show you how to remove shadows from photos. You will also learn how to prevent shadows in the future.
How to Remove Shadow in Photoshop
Photoshop lets you have full control when removing shadows. It’s a great tool for quickly fixing or changing shadows in photos. If you’re good at editing pictures, you can use Photoshop to eliminate shadows in photos. It might be tricky to learn, but once you grasp it, you can do a lot with your pictures. Let’s find out how to deal with dark shadows in Photoshop.
Step 1
Start by opening your photo in Photoshop. Purchase this software from Adobe’s website.
Select your photo in the Layers panel. Then, go to the Layer menu at the top and pick ‘Duplicate Layer.’ This copies your image, allowing you to undo changes. Hide the original photo by clicking the eye icon next to it and choose the copied layer.
Click on the Healing Tool in the toolbar on the left and select the Patch Tool. This will open a settings bar below the main menu. Choose ‘Content-Aware’ under the Patch option. This helps create new pixels when you’re removing shadows from the photo.
Now, use the Patch Tool to draw over the shadow in your picture. Move your cursor to a nearby area you want to use for the replacement. Photoshop will match the pixels for you. When you let go of the cursor, you’ll see the change.
How to Remove Shadows on Your PC
There are numerous ways of removing shadows on the PC. The best and easiest method is using PhotoWorks. The software is great for both beginners and experienced photographers. It comes with powerful AI features that can remove objects, change backgrounds, and edit many photos quickly. You can also use it to fix shadows. Here are some simple and precise steps to remove shadows in PhotoWorks.
Step 1: Get PhotoWorks on your computer.
It’s easier to follow the steps if you have the program ready. Click the button to download PhotoWorks on your PC.
After you open the program and load your picture, go to the “Retouch section” and pick the Healing Brush.
Step 3: Erase the shadow from the photo
Adjust the brush size using sliders, then paint over the shadow. The program will use the nearby area’s texture, making it look natural. For a natural look, adjust the feather and opacity settings. Feather makes the edges softer and less sharp, while opacity controls the transparency of the selected part. Slide the settings left or right to make changes.
Did the shadow disappear? Now, compare the edited photo with the original. Click the Before/After icon or hold down the Show Original button to view the differences.
Step 4: Save the Picture
If you like how it looks, save the photo. Click the blue button in the top-right and choose a format like PNG or JPEG. If you want to change the size, go to the File menu and pick Resize and Save.
How to Remove Shadows Using Mobile Apps
Do you know you can still edit photos on your phone? There are several options in the Google Play or App Store. These include Snapseed, Photoshop Fix, and Picsart.
1. Snapseed
Tool 1: Healing Tool
Step 1: Choose the Healing Tool
Step 2: Paint Over the Shadow
Step 3: Tap the Checkmark
After painting over the shadow, search for a checkmark or a save button in the app. Tap it, and the edits you made, such as removing the shadow, will be saved to your photo.
How to Remove Shadows on Faces
If you focus on portraits, the method above might not be the best. Instead, use some face-retouching tools. In PhotoWorks, they’re very simple to use. Learn how to fix shadows on faces using this software.
Step 1
Download PhotoWorks and start it. Put your picture into the program.
Go to the “Retouch tab” and pick Portrait Magic. You can choose things like ‘Lighten face’ or ‘Add slight shine.’ There is no need to select anything on the picture; the program finds the face independently.
Step 3
Move the slider to make the effect lighter or stronger. Then tap Apply. Save your edited photo.
How to Remove Shadows from a Picture Using Imagewith.ai clearoff
Another tool that proves to be effective in removing shadows is the imagewith.Ai clearoff. It is one of the features you will find on the Al Image Editor. Other tools include imagewith.ai Outcut and imagewith.Ai Overscaler. The former is used to remove unwanted backgrounds in a photo, while the latter is used to enhance an image’s quality.
In our case, we are going to use imagewith.ai Clearoff. The tool also is used to transform your photos and make them look better. You can also use it to erase unwanted objects, people, defects, or watermarks with state-of-the-art AI technology.
If a photo is a low-resolution one, the tool improves its resolution thus making the photo look better. The better enhances the quality of your photo up to 2X or 4X better than the original one.
The good thing about this tool is that it can do this in a few seconds allowing you to have higher quality photos. Note that it is an online tool so you don't need to download any app on your device to use it.
This also means you can use the tool on any device. Whether it is your PC or your mobile device.
Here's how you can use imagewith.Ai Overscale.
- Step 1: Visit the Al Image Editor official website.
- Step 2: Click on Menu and then select Clearoff.
- Step 3: Upload the image with the shadows you need to remove.
- Step 4: Click on tap or draw on the shadow in question to remove the shadows.
- Step 5: Let in process and then click on download to save your shadow-free photo on your device.
Note that you can do this for free, but you may have a limited number of edits if you haven't created an account. To create an account, just click on Menu on the top right side and choose sign up to start the process of creating an account which may take a minute to create.
Shadows can be annoying in photos, but you can remove them with the right techniques and tools. The above are some tools to remove shadows in an image using Photoshop and online tools. Mobile apps work well, too. All these tools will help you improve your photos by eliminating shadows. You can prevent shadows when taking pictures by turning the flashlight on.
