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How do observers recognize faces despite dramatic image variations that arise from changes in illumination? This paper examines (1) whether face recognition is sensitive to illumination direction and (2) whether cast shadows improve performance by providing information about illumination or hinder performance by introducing spurious edges. In Experiment 1, observers judged whether two sequentially presented faces, illuminated from the same direction or different directions, were the same individual or not. Cast shadows were present for half of the observers. Performance was impaired by a change in the illumination direction and by the presence of shadows. In Experiment 2, observers learned to name eight faces under one illumination direction (left/right) and one cast-shadow condition (present/absent); they were later tested under novel illumination and shadow conditions. Performance declined for …