Why are shadow matte shadows too long?

[kevin.buss]

Capturing a shadow on a matte using a skydomelight but its creating a large shadow all around the model.

The distance is too long for the desired use.

I implemented a light portal and got this

and then tried adding two more light portals and got this

Any ideas what could help solve these issues?

[kevin.buss]

If any additional information is needed, feel free to ask

[lee_griggs]

Light Portals should be used for lighting interiors through small windows. Have you tried using an Area light . It might give you more control over the shadows. Alternatively, you could connect a HDRI to the skydomelight that has more directional lighting.

[kevin.buss]

any specific hdri that you would recommend?

[lee_griggs]

Not really. Try some different ones and experiment to see which ones look best.

[kevin.buss]

Please recommend a google image search, it would be a great push in the right direction

[lee_griggs]

There are lots of HDR maps out there. Maybe something like this could work (I can't guarantee it will work for what you are doing). Did you try area lights?