Introduction
Every now and then, when you start your regular photography, you will come into situations
where you will have to shoot in the sunlight or even in different places where there are a lot of
bright lights. For times like that, Adobe Lightroom is your choice and the only friend that is going
to help you with your work and remove your worries entirely.
Adobe Lightroom is one of the most versatile software that mainly works with the color and the
shadow aspect of a photo hence, this is a great way to fix your problems. In this article, we are
going to give you a guide on how to remove shadow from picture in Lightroom. Please do keep
in mind that the technique is rather simple hence, it will look natural and no one will be able to
tell the difference.
How to Remove Shadow From Picture in Lightroom
Step Number 1: Starting Your Work With Global Adjustments
If you are thinking of getting rid of shadows, it is one of the simplest and often the most
effective ways. The photos that need shadow work in our lab are mostly done following this
step. In this step, the first thing that we mostly do, to remove the shadows is: to use the Shadow
Slider. What we do is, increase the Shadows Slider to +100. If in a picture, the shadow is subtle,
only then this one trick will mostly do all the work.
After we are done with that, the next thing we need to do mainly involves two different sliders.
For the first one, we need to decrease the Highlights and for that, we need to use the Highlights
Slider. The value varies from image to image and hence, you need to play with the slider and
figure it out yourself. As you become more professional and experienced, you will be able to get
it easily and accurately.
However, please do keep in mind that a value of -50 is a great first step that you can start and
work on. When you have already started to reduce the Highlights Slider, you will see that the
highlights of the entire image have been reduced and hence, you will have to now increase the
exposure of the image so that you can balance it out.
After you have worked on both the exposure and the highlights, you have definitely brought the
brightest part of the image closer in the value of luminance to the darker part of the image.
However, keep in mind that there are limitations to this because the sliders can go so far. For
those steps, where you wonât be able to work on the global adjustments, you will have to work
on local adjustments.
Step Number 2: Using the Brush Tool to Brighten the Shadows
Different local adjustments, for example, the Brush Tool are great ways to work on additional changes by using the layers only on areas that you need to edit.
To do this, the first thing you need to do is to select the Brush Tool that you will be able to find near the top of the Develop Panel. After that, we want to make sure that the right things have been selected. We mostly use the following set ups for removing the shadows from the image:
⢠We have to first increase the Feather to +100
⢠After that, we need to Turn on Auto-Mask
⢠Then we have to increase the Shadows to +100
⢠Finally, we have to Turn on Overlay (Shortcut â O-key), which will make sure that you will see where you are using the Brush Tool.
After these steps, you will now have to start brushing on the areas that have shadows only.
Most of the time, this is on the darker or the opposite side of the faces of the subjects. By using
only, the Shadow Adjustments, we will ensure that we wonât go that far and will only work on
the darker part of the image.
After that, we need to turn off the overlay and then see how it looks. We have to do different
experiments and then see how the work is ending up. As you become more experienced, you
will be able to do this with ease.
Step Number 3: Refining the Local Adjustments
If you have already turned on the Auto-Mask and worked carefully, you then may not need to follow this tool. However, you might find that the brush is affecting the areas which are outside of the shadows that you want to remove. You can get away with this by switching the brush mode to Erase.
After that, you will have to turn off Auto-Mask, and then turn on the overlay mode, and then start using the feathered edge so that you will be able to remove the areas that you donât want to be affected.
Step Number 4: Balancing the Color Cast and Highlight
When you are working on the shadows where the subject is in harsh sunlight, you will often see that the bright part of the image is in a different color temperature, so we need to work on that too.
Hence, if all you do is brighten up the shadows, you will see that the original highlights will look a lot warmer in color tone than the part where you worked on. This will obviously look unnatural. There is an easy fix for this and to do that, we have to select the brush adjustment that you just added in your work and then increase the color temp with the Temp slider.
If you go towards the yellow side, it will become warmer and if you go towards the blue part, it will become colder. You have to move the slider and see which one has the best outcome for you.
Step Number 5: Masking Out the Highlights
The final and the last step that you need to work on is using the Range Mask technique which
you will find on your brush adjustment. This will finally give you the power to remove the
adjustment from the brightest parts of the image which is mostly based on the luminance value
of the image.
FAQ
What app removes Shadows?
There are a lot of apps and software that can help you work and remove the shadow from your
images. Among them, any type of photo editing app will be able to do that. If you want to work
on a paid app, then Adobe Lightroom is a great software that will be able to remove the
shadows from your image. Also, if you want to work with a free app, then GIMP is a great
software that is open source and will also be able to work on what you desire.
How do I remove specs from a Photo?
There is a lot of software that will be able to remove specs from your image. Among them,
editing apps and software that can edit your images in a lot of different ways will be able to do
that too. Adobe Photoshop is one of the most versatile and powerful software that will be able
to remove specs or any type of editing that you will need in your work or daily life.
Why is there a Shadow in my Picture?
Shadows are basically the absence of light and in fact, this is a pretty common thing to appear in
your photos. Shadows mainly come when there is light on the set of your photoshoot or even if
you are taking photos outside, you will see that you have shadows on the other side of the light.
Even though you wonât be able to remove shadows completely, you will still be able to work and
reduce the intensity of the shadows with ease. There is a lot of powerful software like Adobe
Lightroom that can work with this issue easily.
Conclusion
Even though you will face problems or days in which you will have to work on and fix shadows of the images, if you follow our steps and follow our guides, you will be able to follow and do this work with ease. Hopefully, by reading this article, you will now be able to work on how to remove shadow from picture in Lightroom.
If you liked our article, then please do take a look at our previous articles where we talked about everything from creativity to photography. Also, if you have any question, then please do give your comment in the comment section below. We wish to see you again soon.
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