Add Shadow to Image

A subject lifted out of its original setting usually fails for one reason: nothing holds it to the surface. The pass here is built around that contact. It redraws the person or object with photorealistic surface detail and lays an organically shaped cast shadow beneath them, softly diffused, with falloff that follows the directional ambient light already implied in the frame.

What the shadow pass rebuilds, not just paints

The built-in instruction is a generation instruction rather than a blur filter. Alongside the shadow it asks for subtle reflections, delicate highlights, and deep volumetric shading across the subject, so the form reads as three-dimensional and present instead of pasted on. That is worth knowing before you compare files: the subject you get back is a re-render, so check it against your original for shape, colour, and any mark or label that has to stay exact. There is a single field, the optional prompt box, whose hint asks for the subject, style, composition, and the details that matter. "Matte ceramic vase, one window from the left, warm wooden floor" does more work than "add a shadow", because it names the two things the instruction has to infer otherwise.

Jobs that need a subject held to the surface

• A product cutout moved onto a lifestyle surface for a catalogue or listing image.
• A person taken from one photograph and placed into another, where the studio light they were shot under no longer applies.
• A render that has to sit on a desk or plinth rather than hover above it.
• A composition test, to see whether a shot works in a setting before the real one is made.

Shading changes nothing about ownership, so this is written for material you own or are permitted to edit.

Reading the light before you accept the shadow

Direction is the first thing a viewer checks without noticing. The cast shadow should fall away from the brightest highlight on the subject, not cut across it, and the narrow band where the subject meets the surface should stay darker than the long tail. Softness should increase with distance from that contact point; a shadow with one uniform edge reads as a sticker. Where the light in your source is flat and frontal there is very little for the instruction to be consistent with, so state in the prompt which side the light comes from instead of leaving it implied.

Frequently asked questions

about adding a cast shadow

Do I need to describe the shadow in the prompt box?

No. The page ships with its own instruction, so an empty box still produces a diffused cast shadow with falloff under the subject. The prompt is where you narrow things down: name the surface the subject stands on, the material of the subject itself, and which side the light comes from. That is information the built-in wording cannot infer from a flat product shot.

Why does my subject still look pasted on?

Usually because the shadow and the highlights disagree. Check that the brightest side of the subject faces away from where the shadow runs, then look at the contact point under the base. If the shadow is one flat tone from edge to tail, restate the falloff and the surface in the prompt rather than running the same request again.

Can I use it on a photo that already has a shadow?

Yes, and the existing shading is what the pass works from. Expect that shadow to be repainted along with the subject, since the instruction redraws the form rather than only darkening under it. If the original shadow belongs to a scene you need intact, compare both files closely before you decide which one to keep.

Is this the same as a drop shadow layer in an editor?

A traditional drop shadow copies the subject silhouette and offsets it in a single flat tone. This pass shapes the shadow around the implied light source and rebuilds the subject's own shading at the same time, which is why the result can read as photography rather than a layer effect. The trade-off is that the subject itself may differ slightly from what you uploaded.