Written by Steve Patterson. Photoshop's Drop Shadow layer style may be great for adding simple shadows to images or text, making them look as if they're floating slightly above their background, but when it comes to creating more realistic looking shadows of people or objects, the standard Drop Shadow just doesn't cut it. In this tutorial, we'll learn an easy way to create a realistic cast shadow effect!

Here's the photo I'll be using for this tutorial:

Here's how it will look with the shadow applied:

Let's get started!

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Step 1: Select The Person Or Object

Before we can add a shadow to someone, we first need to select them. Using the selection tool of your choice (Lasso Tool, Quick Selection Tool, Pen Tool, etc.), draw a selection around the person (or object) in the photo. When you're done, you should see a selection outline around them. Here, I've selected the girl:

Step 2: Copy The Selection To A New Layer

With the person or object selected, press Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac) on your keyboard to quickly copy the selection to a new layer. Nothing will happen in the document window, but if we look in the Layers panel, we see that Photoshop has copied the selection to a new layer named "Layer 1" above the Background layer:

Step 3: Add Extra Canvas Space If Needed

Depending on your image, you may or may not need this step, but in my case, I need to add some extra canvas space to make room for the shadow. The easiest way to add extra canvas space is with Photoshop's Crop Tool. I'll select it from the Tools panel:

To make it easier to see what I'm doing, I'll switch out of the document window and into the first of Photoshop's fullscreen modes by pressing the letter F on my keyboard. Then, with the Crop Tool active, I'll click in the gray area above and to the left of the top left corner of the image, and with my mouse button held down, I'll drag to the gray area below and to the right of the bottom right corner:

When I release my mouse button, a crop border appears around the image, with handles (little squares) on all four sides and in each corner. I need to add more canvas space on the left of the photo, so I'll click on the left handle and drag it outward:

I'll press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) to accept the crop (even though what we're doing here is really the exact opposite of cropping), at which point Photoshop adds the extra space on the left of the image and fills it with white (the default Background color). I'll press F on my keyboard a couple of times until I'm back to the document window view:

Step 4: Add A New Blank Layer Below Layer 1

Hold down your Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) key and click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:

This tells Photoshop not only to add a new layer to the document as it normally would, but to add the new layer below the currently selected layer (Layer 1), which places it between Layer 1 and the Background layer:

Step 5: Draw A Gradient On The New Layer

Let's create a new background for the effect using a gradient, which will give it a little depth. Click on the Foreground color swatch near the bottom of the Tools panel. By default, it should be showing black:

This opens Photoshop's Color Picker where we can choose a new Foreground color. Choose a light gray. If you want to use the same shade of gray that I'm using, enter 70% for the B value (B stands for Brightness) on the right. Click OK when you're done to close out of the Color Picker:

Next, select the Gradient Tool from the Tools panel. We'll be using the Gradient Tool a few times for this effect:

With the Gradient Tool active, right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) anywhere inside the document window to quickly bring up the Gradient Picker, and make sure you have the very first gradient - Foreground to Background - selected by clicking on its thumbnail (first one on the left, top row). Press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) when you're done to close out of the Gradient Picker:

Then, click near the bottom of the document, hold down your Shift key and drag straight up until you're just above the horizontal center of the image. Holding the Shift key as you drag constrains your movements, making it easier to drag vertically:

Release your mouse button and Photoshop draws the gradient, which becomes the new background for the image:

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