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Add Shadow Effect

Add realistic shadow effects to images with customizable direction, blur, color, and intensity

Click to upload file or drag and drop file here

Maximum file size: 20MB Supported formats: image/jpeg, image/png, image/webp, image/gif, image/bmp, image/tiff

Upload any image file to add shadow effect to

Choose the direction of the shadow

Distance of the shadow from the image

Blur radius of the shadow (higher = softer)

Color of the shadow

Opacity of the shadow (0.0 to 1.0)

Size scale of the shadow relative to the image

Background color (leave empty for transparent)

Choose output format or keep original

Output quality for lossy formats (WebP, JPEG)

Key Facts

Category
Design
Input Types
file, select, number, color
Output Type
file
Sample Coverage
4
API Ready
Yes

Overview

Enhance your images with professional-grade drop shadows using our easy-to-use online tool. Customize the direction, blur, color, and intensity to add depth and a realistic 3D effect to your photos, icons, or graphics in seconds.

When to Use

  • •When you want to make product images stand out on a website or e-commerce platform.
  • •When you need to add visual depth to flat icons or UI design elements.
  • •When you are preparing presentation slides and want to give images a clean, lifted look.

How It Works

  • •Upload your image file (PNG, JPG, WebP, etc.) to the tool.
  • •Adjust the shadow settings, including direction, blur radius, distance, and opacity.
  • •Select your preferred output format and quality settings.
  • •Apply the changes and download your processed image with the new shadow effect.

Use Cases

Creating professional product mockups for online stores.
Adding depth to social media graphics and marketing banners.
Highlighting specific UI elements in design portfolios.

Examples

1. Product Image Enhancement

E-commerce Manager
Background
A collection of product photos with plain white backgrounds looks flat and unengaging on the store page.
Problem
The products lack visual separation from the background, making them appear less premium.
How to Use
Upload the product image, set the shadow direction to 'bottom-right', increase the blur to 15px, and set opacity to 0.3.
Outcome
The product now appears to be lifted off the page, creating a clean, professional 3D effect that improves conversion.

2. UI Element Styling

Web Designer
Background
A set of app icons needs to be presented on a landing page to demonstrate the software interface.
Problem
The icons look too 'flat' against the website background and lack hierarchy.
How to Use
Upload the icon, choose 'bottom' direction, set a small distance of 5px, and use a soft grey shadow color.
Outcome
The icons gain a subtle elevation, helping them pop against the background and improving overall visual hierarchy.

Try with Samples

image, png, jpg
Web Image Processing Python Samples
Web Python image processing examples using PIL/Pillow including reading, saving, resizing, and format conversion
preferred input family image
image
Windows Image Processing C++ Samples
Windows C++ image processing examples including reading/saving images, resizing, and format conversion using Windows Imaging Component (WIC)
preferred input family image
image
Web Image Processing Rust Samples
Web Rust image processing examples including image read/save, scaling, and format conversion
preferred input family image
image
macOS Image Processing Objective-C Samples
macOS Objective-C image processing examples including image reading/saving, image scaling, and format conversion
preferred input family image
image

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FAQ

What image formats are supported?

The tool supports JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, and TIFF formats.

Can I make the shadow transparent?

Yes, you can adjust the shadow opacity slider to control the transparency of the shadow effect.

Does this tool support transparent backgrounds?

Yes, if you use a PNG or WebP format, the tool preserves transparency while adding the shadow.

Can I change the color of the shadow?

Absolutely, you can select any color for the shadow using the color picker tool.

Is there a limit to the file size I can upload?

You can upload images up to 20MB in size.

API Documentation

Request Endpoint

POST /en/api/tools/image-add-shadow

Request Parameters

Parameter Name Type Required Description
imageFile file (Upload required) Yes Upload any image file to add shadow effect to
shadowDirection select Yes Choose the direction of the shadow
shadowDistance number No Distance of the shadow from the image
shadowBlur number No Blur radius of the shadow (higher = softer)
shadowColor color No Color of the shadow
shadowOpacity number No Opacity of the shadow (0.0 to 1.0)
shadowSize number No Size scale of the shadow relative to the image
backgroundColor color No Background color (leave empty for transparent)
outputFormat select No Choose output format or keep original
quality number No Output quality for lossy formats (WebP, JPEG)

File type parameters need to be uploaded first via POST /upload/image-add-shadow to get filePath, then pass filePath to the corresponding file field.

Response Format

{
  "filePath": "/public/processing/randomid.ext",
  "fileName": "output.ext",
  "contentType": "application/octet-stream",
  "size": 1024,
  "metadata": {
    "key": "value"
  },
  "error": "Error message (optional)",
  "message": "Notification message (optional)"
}
File: File

AI MCP Documentation

Add this tool to your MCP server configuration: 

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "elysiatools-image-add-shadow": {
      "name": "image-add-shadow",
      "description": "Add realistic shadow effects to images with customizable direction, blur, color, and intensity",
      "baseUrl": "https://elysiatools.com/mcp/sse?toolId=image-add-shadow",
      "command": "",
      "args": [],
      "env": {},
      "isActive": true,
      "type": "sse"
    }
  }
}

You can chain multiple tools, e.g.: `https://elysiatools.com/mcp/sse?toolId=png-to-webp,jpg-to-webp,gif-to-webp`, max 20 tools.

Supports URL file links or Base64 encoding for file parameters.

If you encounter any issues, please contact us at [email protected]