Dealing with your own Shadow in photos (when its unwanted)

[erotavlas]

Hi, Just wondering how people deal with their shadow on the ground when taking photos in the early morning or before sunset. The sun rays of light are near to the horizon and it elongates your shadow to the point it becomes hard to eliminate for certain shots. So sometimes I get a long shadow of myself taking the photo on the ground. Any tips on how to avoid this during the shot or post processing?
Thanks

 

[fjrabon]

move farther away, shoot on a tripod and zoom in with a telephoto.

 

[tirediron]

This is one of those tough ones for which there's often no good answer. Try and alster your composition slightly so that your shadow falls outside the capture area, wait a little while 'til the sun is higher, come back in the evening... I'm not a fan of trying to deal with it in post. It's often a very difficult thing to "clean up".

 

[Iam4StL]

One of the first things I normally do before taking a photo is to look at my surroundings. Sunlight direction, power lines, distractions, buildings, people that may be walking into the photo, etc. The I make certain of my camera settings to match the scene. If I know those things BEFORE pressing the shutter button, I am more likely to get the capture I want. Otherwise, mistakes would have to be corrected in post processing. I use Photoshop CS2 for post processing.

 

[erotavlas]

move farther away, shoot on a tripod and zoom in with a telephoto.

that's a very good idea, too bad I dont have the telephoto lens for my camera

 

[Vtec44]

If possible, I'd change my shooting direction to have the sun on the side of me instead of behind me. Or, you can just use open shade areas.

 

[camz]

Easy fix!

Natural light/ambient - Shoot from a lower angle enough to eliminate visibility of your subject's shadows behind them. If you're worried about your shadows, shoot with the sun atleast @ 45degrees and that should divert your shadow outside the frame. You don't want your light source in a direct angle to begin with as your image is going to be flat.

Another one is to use strobes or flash to kill the shadows on the ground.

 

[dots]

Use a flash or use a tripod + self timer/remote and get out of the way.

 

[camz]

Use a flash or use a tripod + self timer/remote and get out of the way.

Well the tripod with the camera can still cast a shadow at certain angles. It won't make a difference if the photographer isn't there.

 

[dots]

 

[Derrel]

I point the camera in another direction.

 

[gsgary]

Don't shoot from and angle where your shadow is in the way, it also means the light will be straight on the subject which means you will have flat lighting

 

[photo guy]

I just use the zoom more and also stand back further.