Shadow Creation
Product shadow creation: a hand-drawn drop, natural or reflection shadow that grounds a cut-out product on any background.
- Natural contact shadow creation for realistic grounding on pure white
- Soft drop shadows for clean ecommerce, Amazon, and marketplace product listings
- Reflection and mirror shadows for cosmetics, perfume, footwear, and glossy surfaces
What is shadow creation?
A shadow creation service adds a realistic shadow under a product that has been cut out of its photo.
What is included
- Natural contact shadow creation for realistic grounding on pure white
- Soft drop shadows for clean ecommerce, Amazon, and marketplace product listings
- Reflection and mirror shadows for cosmetics, perfume, footwear, and glossy surfaces
- Cast shadows matched to product geometry, surface texture, and directional lighting
- Precision blur and opacity fall-off for natural light diffusion
- Shadow isolated on a dedicated layer in PSD files for non-destructive adjustments
- Consistent shadow direction and density across high-volume SKU catalogs
Not included
- Background removal
- Product retouching
How shadow creation is done
You send a cut-out photo
Your product with its background removed. With no shadow it floats, like a sticker.
We find the light
An editor finds where the light comes from, so the shadow falls the way it would in real life.
We build the shadow
A dark, sharp shadow where the product touches the surface, fading into a soft one further out.
Choose your shadow style
A soft drop shadow, a natural shadow or a mirror reflection, on its own layer so you can change it later.
Why studio-drawn shadows convert higher than generic Photoshop drop shadows.
Automated filters create harsh, fake halos that lower perceived product value. See how studio-crafted directional shadows compare.
| Feature | Reframe Studio | Automated Layer Styles | Unshadowed Floating Cutouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Realism | True contact density with progressive optical blur | Flat, uniform artificial halo | Zero depth; product appears to float unnaturally |
| Light Direction Matching | Individually aligned to product highlights & shape | Fixed global angle that clashes with photography | N/A |
| Amazon Pure White Compliance | Fades smoothly into pure RGB 255,255,255 white | Often leaves dark gray outer boundary bands | Pure white, but lacks visual grounding |
| Reflection & Surface Physics | Accurate mirror fade with subtle perspective skew | Cannot generate realistic glassy reflections | N/A |
| Layer Flexibility | Independent editable shadow layer in PSD | Embedded raster layer or basic layer effect | Single flat layer |
| Turnaround & Capacity | 2,500+ daily with 24h guaranteed SLA | Manual per-image adjustments needed | Fast, but drops buyer purchase trust |
Is shadow creation right for your images?
A good fit
- Cutout product images that appear flat, artificial, or floating on pure white marketplace backdrops
- Luxury footwear, cosmetics, electronics, and jewelry requiring sophisticated mirror reflections
- Bulk multi-SKU catalogs that need identical light direction and contact density
Not a fit
- Products with unremoved backgrounds: Background Removal is required first
- Surface blemish and dust cleanup: Retouching handles product cleanup
- Full 3D environment lighting builds: Image Manipulation or CGI compositing
What you get back.
- Files
- Layered PSD, transparent PNG, or pure white JPEG
- Your shadow style
- Drop, natural or reflection shadow, matched to the product's weight and shape
- On its own layer
- The shadow sits on a separate layer in the PSD, so you can fade or remove it later
- Every image matches
- The same light direction and softness across the whole catalog
What we need from you.
Send these and work can start.
- Originals
- Product cutouts or photographs with background removed, any format.
- Shadow style
- Specify drop shadow, natural contact shadow, or reflective mirror shadow.
- Light direction
- Indicate surface light angle, softness, and opacity requirements.
Turnaround, batches and corrections for shadow creation.
2,500+ images a day on shadow creation. Pick 12h–72h at checkout.
Delivery windows
Batch size
Corrections
What clients say after the first batch.
Probably the best team I have worked with, and I use the platform very very often. Awesome pricing & highest possible result. Everything done to the smallest details. They really know how to use PS. Will definitely work with them in the long run.
Nikola FilićFounder & Creative Director, Bomber ClothingTrusted by
Pet accessoriesUSA
Bold streetwear
We work across
Grounding 500+ products? Book a call for custom pricing.
We agree your shadow direction, softness and reflection style once, then match it across the whole set.
11 questions
Product shadow creation is a photo editing service where an artist manually constructs a realistic shadow beneath a background-isolated product. This eliminates the floating sticker look of raw cutouts, providing depth, weight, and commercial realism on pure white or transparent backgrounds.
A drop shadow simulates a soft light source directly in front of the product, creating an even, subtle outline underneath. A natural contact shadow mimics realistic surface sunlight or studio key lights, with dense contact points under edges fading into soft diffused penumbras. A reflection (or mirror) shadow creates a polished, glassy reflection below the product, popular for luxury perfume, watches, and electronics.
Yes. Amazon permits subtle, realistic contact shadows that ground the product, provided the background remains calibrated to pure white (RGB 255, 255, 255 / #FFFFFF). Our shadows blend seamlessly into pure white with zero background color contamination.
Yes. In layered PSD files, the shadow is rendered on its own transparent layer beneath the product layer. This allows your design team to adjust shadow opacity, angle, or color balance independently at any time.
We establish a fixed studio lighting angle (e.g., top-left 45-degree angle with 60% contact density and 20px blur radius) and apply that exact geometric standard across every product in your catalog.
Yes. When the original photograph has good studio lighting, our retouchers can extract the subject while isolating the real physical shadow, refining its edges, and blending it onto pure white or transparent PNG.
Drop shadow: the standard soft shadow for catalog and marketplace images on white. Reflection: a mirrored fade under glossy or premium products. Cast and touch-up: a grounded shadow that follows the product shape and light direction. Soft directional: a gentle, longer shadow that adds depth. Not sure? Tell us the platform and we pick the one it suits, or send a reference image of the look.
Simple ($0.35): a flat product with one contact point. Medium ($0.59): a product with several contact points or an uneven base. Complex ($0.99): reflections, glass, multiple products in one shot or shadows that must follow a surface. Prices are per image at 24h Standard.
Yes. We set one light direction, softness and opacity and use it on every image, so a product grid looks like it was shot on one table. Send a reference image or tell us the direction (for example light from top left) and how strong you want the shadow.
Yes. Send transparent PNGs or PSDs and we add the shadow on your background. If you also need the cutout, order Background Removal or Clipping Path with it, because this service does not remove backgrounds.
Tell us and we adjust opacity, blur and contact points. Corrections are free within 14 days of delivery, and we repeat until it fits.
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