How to Remove Shadow from Photo on Computer/Mobile/Online

You are close to the perfect portrait shot, not until you see the shadows obscuring the subject. Shadows, at times, can be beautiful in your image, but there are moments when your only choice is to remove shadows from photos, especially when taking portraits. With the help of the right tool, you will not have to redo the whole process to achieve the desired result. In this walkthrough, we curated efficient tools to remove shadows from photos on computer, mobile, and online.

Part 1: Free Online Way to Remove Shadows from Photos with AI

Removing shadows from pictures might seem impossible, but AVAide Watermark Remover is there to give you a quick result. It is an AI-generated online program that helps you eliminate unwanted shadows, text, watermarks, and even stickers on a digital image. You must be satisfied with achieving a perfect result with a few clicks since the tool automatically analyzes the image and removes the shadow on photos without destroying the background. Moreover, this tool is entirely free of charge, and you can enjoy its features without limits per day.

Step 1Go to the official website of AVAide Watermark Remover and click Choose a Photo to select the desired photos from your media. You can upload any image formats like JPG, PNG, GIF, etc.

Step 2Choose a selection tool that will help you highlight the shadow on your image quickly. You may pick from the Polygonal and Lasso tools when working on small details.

Step 3Finally, click Remove and wait for a few minutes to remove the shadow from photo. Then, click Save to export the output to your computer.

Part 2: Professional Way to Remove Photo Shadows with Photoshop

For a more professional way to remove shadows from a photo, you can choose Photoshop. Considered as the standard in the photo editing industry, it is an advanced editor suite that lets you transform pixel-based, rasterized, or vector photos, etc. Of course, you can also remove watermark on Photoshop and do more editing to enhance your photos. Moreover, this tool utilized a layer-based system suitable for working on images detail by detail. In 3 simple steps, here is how to remove shadow from photo using Photoshop.

Step 1Load the photo on Photoshop by clicking File > Open and choose the image on your computer. Afterward, go to the Layers panel and duplicate the Background layer.

Step 2Head to the left side of the program to see the toolbox section. Expand the selection tool and choose the Quick Selection tool. Afterward, select the object in your images using the mouse. Once done, press Ctrl + Shift + I on your keyboard to create an inverse selection.

Step 3Next, select the Background copy on the Layers section and then move to the Toolbox to select the Lasso tool. Highlight the shadow on the photo.

Step 4Finally, go to Filter > Fill and choose Content Aware. Afterward, click OK, and you should see the removed shadow from the photo.

Part 3: How to Remove Shadows from A Photo through Inpaint

When you have no technical knowledge or experience to remove shadow from an image, a web-based tool like Inpaint will significantly help. This tool supports images in different formats, like JPG, PNG, and WebP. On top of that, Inpaint operates in many ways when you want to restore old photos, add digital retouching on portraits, erase date stamps, and remove shadow from photo. Knowing how straightforward the tool is, basic computer knowledge can help you render outputs like a pro. To do photo shadow removal in Inpaint, here is what you need to do.

Step 1Search for Inpaint on any browser and launch it. Load the digital photo on the tool and wait for it to appear.

Step 2Next, use the Lasso Tool to select the shadow on the image and erase it from the image or background.

Step 3If you are satisfied, click Remove, and the object you highlighted will be erased. In this way, you can easily remove shadows from a photo.

Part 4: Default Way to Remove Shadows from Photos on Android/iPhone

Whether using an iPhone or an Android mobile device, you can edit the shadows on your photos using the built-in photo editor in your gallery. However, it can only handle some basic adjustments and lack precision, forcing you to brighten entire sections instead of selectively removing shadows. There are no advanced tools for shadow edge refinement or natural light matching, which often makes the edited areas looking artificially flat or poorly blended. You can only manually remove the shadows from photos with the following guide:

Step 1First, go to the gallery of your iPhone and tap your target image. From there, head to the upper left corner of the screen and tap Edit.

Step 2On The editing board, slide the tools and tap Shadows. You can move the slider from 0-100 and check the changes on time while moving it.

Step 3Once you have acquired the desired result, tap Done to remove shadows from photos and save your changes.

Part 5: Use Powerful App - Phonty to Remove Photo Shadows on Mobile

Phonty is a powerful app that can remove shadow from photo on iOS and Android. It offers the simplified process with its intuitive removal tool that automatically detects and eliminates unwanted shadows while preserving natural lighting. Unlike basic photo editors, Phonty uses advanced AI to maintain texture details in shadowed areas, particularly effective for portrait and product photography. However, during the process, you may encounter bothering ads.

Step 1Open Phonty and choose your photo on the phone. Tap Continue on the top right corner to start the editing.

Step 2Tap Adjust on the toolbar and then slightly increase the Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation to remove shadow from photo on your Android/iPhone.

Part 6: FAQs on Removing Shadows from A Photo

Can I add or remove shadow from Picture in Word?

Absolutely, yes! When working on images with this software, users have the option if they wish to add shadows to their pictures. Click Picture > Effects > Shadows. If you opt to do the opposite, click No Shadows.

How can I avoid shadows on photos without editing?

Shadows on photos can be removed using online or offline tools. If you want to avoid having them on your portraits, make sure that you add the appropriate light source and angle every time you take pictures with your camera.

Is it possible to remove shadows from photos using Canva?

Yes. Aside from removing the entire background from the image, you can also remove small details like shadows using Canva. However, these features are only available when subscribed to the program's premium version.

Is Photoshop free?

Advanced tools like Photoshop can maximize all your editing needs and acquire computer skills to operate it. However, this editing tool is much more expensive than other tools. Aside from the 7-day free trial, its standalone pricing costs $22/month.

By Jane Pineda on Aug 01, 2025