Top 6 Apps to Remove Shadows from Pictures

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Edited by Ben Jacklin
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For many years, photographers had to work extremely hard to get the lighting in their photos just right. Unwanted shadows could, and still can, ruin otherwise perfect photos. Fortunately, these days, learning how to remove a shadow from a picture is straightforward.

Program

Main advantages

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  • Get rid of shadows in one click
  • Tool specifically designed to remove shadows from faces

  • Batch editing applies edits to multiple photos simultaneously, saving time

  • AI lighting adjustment tool can remove shadows for you

  • Face Enhance tool can remove shadows from the subject of your photo

  • Wide range of editing tools optimized for mobile use

Best shadow removers

PhotoAiD is an online editor that was originally created to create passport-compliant photos from everyday selfies. In the process of building that tool, the developers essentially created multiple sub-tools, including a shadow remover, which they have generously made available to the public for free.

This shadow eraser makes getting rid of shadows on a face easy. All you have to do is upload your picture and click Remove shadows. The AI algorithm will then do all the hard work for you. Simple!

Pros:

  • Completely free to use

  • No need to download software

  • AI does all the tricky work for you

Cons:

  • Optimized for portraits, so might struggle with shadows over objects

  • Little ability to fine-tune results 

  • Other tools or software required for other edits

Fotor aims to be a straightforward, entirely online image editor. A wide variety of tools allow users to fine-tune their photos and perform complex editing procedures in one click. For example, AI tools can upscale photos, remove blur, eliminate backgrounds, and even delete individual objects from an image. Fotor’s AI can also adjust the lighting in your photo, which could be useful for removing pesky shadows. If you want to remove shadows from multiple photos, then Fotor’s batch photo editor could be the perfect solution. It allows editors to perform certain editing actions on multiple photos at once, saving time.

Once you’ve removed the shadow from your image, explore some of the additional editing tools that Fotor offers to take your picture to the next level. Put your pictures into a collage, turn them into intricate designs, and let your creativity run wild.

Pros:

  • Extensive toolset

  • Several AI tools that can perform a range of complex edits

  • No app download required

Cons:

  • Some features, including AI tools, require a paid subscription

Snapseed (iOS & Android)

Snapseed is an editing solution for the mobile photo editor. Developed by Google, the app is available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, meaning both Android and iOS users can download and use it. More than 100 million people already have!

Each of the dozens of tools, filters, brushes, and other editing techniques has been optimized for editing with your fingers. For example, you can perform precise adjustments to the lighting of your photos with your hands. If you’re looking for a quick fix, try one of the many filters. Alternatively, the Face Enhance tool can optimize the lighting of your portrait, removing any unwanted shadows on the face of your subject.

Pros:

  • Available on most mobile devices, allowing you to edit on the move

  • Rated 4.3 stars based on more than 1.68 million reviews

  • Wide selection of editing tools, including solutions for removing shadows

Cons:

  • Some standard features missing, such as option to undo and redo actions

  • App records a lot of information about a user, including location and device ID, which could be a privacy concern for certain users

TouchRetouch (iOS & Android)

TouchRetouch is a mobile application specifically designed for object removal. It’s available on both iOS and Android and has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times. The app has the ability to remove all kinds of objects. Users can remove or blur entire people, which is a great option for holiday snaps or other photos taken with strangers in the background. Additionally, TouchRetouch has tools to remove lines and mesh. These tools are excellent for erasing any wires, such as power or telephone wires, that might be unavoidable when taking a photo in an urban landscape. You can also use these tools to remove fencing or other objects situated between your camera lens and your subject.

Object removal in TouchRetouch extends to the tiny. Use the powerful blemish removal tool to erase spots and marks in your photos. All these tools, used in conjunction with powerful content-aware algorithms, can help you remove pesky shadows from your images.

Pros:

  • Range of powerful tools for object removal, blur, and even cloning

  • Tools are optimized for mobile users, especially ones with access to a stylus or similar tool

Cons:

  • Some features require a subscription, and the free version of the app limits exports

  • Designed to focus on removing objects rather than shadows specifically

Photoshop® Express (iOS & Android)

With well over 100 million downloads, Photoshop® Express is easily one of the most popular mobile photo editing apps. The app, available on Android and iPhone, includes many of the powerful tools that make Photoshop® so famous on the desktop. Eye correction, an extensive library of filters, the ability to reduce noise and haze, and a powerful healing tool to remove specific elements from a picture are just some of the many tools on offer.

Play around with the lighting adjustment tools to soften or remove unwanted shadows in your image. Some of these tools have been created specifically to edit selfies, making removing shadows from the face of a person a breeze. AI tools, including ones that automatically touch-up your images, can save you time.

Pros:

  • Wide range of professional-level editing tools

  • AI tools can do some of the work for you

  • Many tools optimized for mobile use

Cons:

  • Some features require payment

  • Wide range of editing tools can make learning curve for the shadow removal steeper than in other photo editors

YouCam Perfect, a mobile app available on the iOS App Store, is all about polishing photos of people. Whether you’re editing a selfie, headshot, full-body portrait, or even a group shot, YouCam Perfect is an excellent option for editing human subjects. It comes with all the editing tools you’d expect from a selfie editor. You can retouch and even reshape faces and figures, either manually or automatically, with the app’s built-in adjustment tool. Some of the retouches available in the app are pretty specific. You can whiten teeth, widen a smile, and even plump up lips. And you can remove shadows, of course.

Pros:

  • AI tools can perform complex retouches in seconds

  • Over 800 million downloads

  • Wide range of editing tools specifically designed for editing human subjects

Cons:

  • Tools generally aren’t specifically for shadow removal

Edit your pictures with Movavi Photo Editor

For a powerful photo editor with tools designed specifically to remove unwanted objects – and do a whole lot more – consider Movavi Photo Editor. For quick edits, you can use one of the hundreds of filters and thousands of effects. Alternatively, let one of the multiple AI tools do the work. There are also dozens of presets available, which might be just the thing to remove unwanted objects from your image. Of course, you can also perform precise manual edits, including color and lighting correction for fine-tuned shadow removal and more.

Summary

Now you know how to remove shadows from pictures in different ways on your smartphone. There’s no single perfect option, so carefully consider your specific needs, goals, and abilities when selecting which app you want to go with. And remember, these options are all free, so switching to a different one later on is simple!

Movavi Photo Editor

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*The trial version of Movavi Photo Editor has the following restrictions: you can save up to 10 images with added watermark, screenshots are disabled.

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