Beautiful Long Shadows in Photoshop (Trick You Probably Don’t Know!)
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Path Blur is the fastest way to create long shadows in Photoshop that stretch away from your text and fade out like a real cast shadow.
A Drop Shadow layer style can only offset a soft copy of your layer. It cannot stretch that copy, and the stretch is the whole effect.
This tip fills a black copy of the layer and smears it in one direction with the Path Blur filter, live, as you drag an arrow.
It is for anyone who designs with text, from posters to thumbnails to a title over a photo.
By the end you will build the shadow, aim it at the light, and keep it editable as a Smart Object. The video was recorded in Photoshop 2021, and the Blur Gallery is unchanged in the latest version.
Key Takeaways
- A Drop Shadow layer style moves the shadow. Path Blur stretches it.
- The shadow is its own layer: the text loaded as a selection, filled with black, and placed under the text.
- Uncheck Centered Blur, or the blur spreads to both sides of the letters and never reads as a shadow.
- Speed sets how far the shadow stretches and the arrow sets which way. A Smart Object keeps both editable.
Table of contents
What You Will Learn
- How to load a text layer as a selection and fill it with black
- How Path Blur turns that black copy into a long shadow
- How to aim the shadow so it agrees with the light in your scene
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 2021 or the latest version
- A text layer, or any element on its own layer, over a background
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Load the layer as a selection | Ctrl click the layer thumbnail | Command click the layer thumbnail |
| Fill the selection with the foreground color | Alt Backspace | Option Delete |
| Deselect | Ctrl D | Command D |
Step 1: Drop Shadow vs Long Shadow
The video starts with a textured color fill and an editable text layer, each with its own Layer Style.
The obvious fix is a Drop Shadow layer style. Add one to the text layer, reset it to default so the shadow is plain black, and drag the shadow around the canvas.
It looks fine, and it looks like every other drop shadow. The style can only move a soft copy of the letters a short distance.
For a standard drop shadow with more control, see how to make customizable drop shadows in Photoshop.
Note: This is the soft, photographic long shadow for text and other design elements. The flat-design shadow that sits under an app icon is a different build, covered in Long Shadow Icon Design.
Step 2: Build the Long Shadow Layer
Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) and click the thumbnail of the text layer in the Layers panel. That loads the letters as a selection.
Create a new layer. With black as your foreground color, press Alt Backspace (Windows) or Option Delete (macOS) to fill the selection with black.
Tip: That shortcut fills with the current foreground color. Check that the Foreground Color swatch at the bottom of the toolbar is black before you press it.
Press Ctrl D (Windows) or Command D (macOS) to deselect, then drag the black layer below the text layer.
That black layer is the whole trick. Every pixel of the shadow comes from it, so it matches the letters exactly.
Step 3: Make It a Smart Object
Right-click the black layer in the Layers panel and choose Convert to Smart Object.
A filter on a Smart Object becomes a Smart Filter. You can reopen it later and change the length or direction of the shadow instead of starting over. Skip this step and the blur bakes into the pixels.
Step 4: Stretch the Long Shadow with Path Blur
With the Smart Object selected, go to Filter > Blur Gallery > Path Blur. The Blur Gallery opens in its own workspace with the Path Blur settings on the right.
An arrow appears on the canvas. Drag its end point and the black letters smear along it, to both sides, like motion blur rather than a shadow.
Two settings fix that. Uncheck Centered Blur, so the blur runs one way only, starting from the letters. Then raise Speed, which sets how far the pixels travel. Higher means longer.
The result is smooth and soft, and it thins out as it stretches away. That falloff is what separates long shadows in Photoshop from a crude drop shadow. For the rest of the filter’s controls, see how to use Path Blur in Photoshop.
Click OK. Path Blur now sits under the layer as a Smart Filter.
Step 5: Aim the Long Shadow
A long shadow only looks right when it falls away from the light.
In the video, the light comes from the left. The S at the top is brighter than the W at the bottom, so the shadow runs toward the right.
Drag the Path Blur arrow until the shadow points the right way. There is no fixed angle to type in.
The same steps work on a logo, a shape, or a cut-out object. Any layer loads as a selection the same way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Load your text as a selection, fill it with black on a new layer under the text, then run Path Blur from the Blur Gallery. Uncheck Centered Blur, raise Speed, and drag the arrow in the direction the shadow should fall.
Centered Blur is still checked. With it on, Path Blur smears the pixels in both directions along the arrow, which looks like motion blur. Uncheck it and the blur runs one way only, starting from the letters.
Yes, if you converted the black layer to a Smart Object before applying the filter. Path Blur then sits under the layer as a Smart Filter. Double-click it to reopen the Blur Gallery and change the length or direction.
Long Shadows in Photoshop in 90 Seconds
A black copy of the layer, a Smart Object, and one pass of Path Blur with Centered Blur off. That is the whole recipe for long shadows in Photoshop.
The Drop Shadow layer style is not wrong. It is the wrong tool for a shadow that has to travel.
Watch the video above to see it live, and comment on the video if this trick was new to you.
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Keep going
Next, learn how to make realistic shadows in Photoshop for objects placed into a photo.
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