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title: "VRayShadows"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/VMAX/113575371/VRayShadows"
format: markdown
---
This page gives some basic details about the Shadow Render Element and how it is used in compositing. Overview The Shadows Render Element works as a reverse mask for shadows. It is a color image that can be used to lighten, darken or tint shadows. Shadows can be lightened in the composite by adding this render element, or darkened by subtracting this render pass from the final composite. The VRayShadows Render Element is the product of multiplying the  VRayRawShadow  Render Element with the  VRayDiffuseFilter  Render Element in the composite. ||Render Setup window|| >  Render Elements  tab >  Add  button >  VRayShadows Parameters This render element is enabled through the Render Elements tab of the Render Setup window in 3ds Max and displays its parameters in a rollout at the bottom of the window: VRayVFB  – When enabled, the render element appears in the V-Ray Virtual Frame Buffer. Deep output  – Specifies whether to include this render element in deep images. Color mapping  – Applies the color mapping options specified in the  Color mapping  rollout (Render Setup window > V-Ray tab) to this render element. This option is enabled by default. Multiplier  – Sets the overall intensity of the render element, where 1.0 is the standard multiplier. Denoise  –  Specifies whether to denoise this render element. Common Uses The  Shadows Render Element  is useful for changing the appearance of shadowed areas in a compositing or image editing application. In the example the Shadow RE is subtracted from the  Beauty element , resulting in a darker render. Before After Underlying Compositing Equation VRayRawShadow  x  VRayDiffuseFilter  = VRayShadows Notes The VRayShadows Render Element can be both added and subtracted with the final beauty comp at a composite level without rerendering.  Shadows can be color-corrected using the VRayShadows Render Element. When rendering with V-Ray GPU CUDA, the VRayShadows Render Element is incompatible with Adaptive Lights and may render incorrectly if used together. The light evaluation mode can be adjusted from the  Global Switches  rollout in Advanced mode.