Harsh shadows on a face usually come from a small light placed too high or too close to the camera. Move the light or make it bigger and most of the problem goes away.
The goal is not to remove every shadow. It is to keep the eyes readable and the skin even.
Look at the shape of the shadow first. A shadow under the nose means the light is too high, while a shadow across the eyes means it sits too high and too steep.
A hard edge means the source is small. A soft edge means the source is large and you have less to fix.
Trace the shadow back to the light that causes it before you touch anything.
Drop the key until the nose shadow stays above the lips. Bring the light closer and soften it so the edge of the shadow blurs.
Never point a small on camera light straight at a face from the lens. It flattens the features and drops the background into black.
Angle the light slightly off axis so it grazes the face instead of hitting it head on.
A face without any shadow looks flat. A face with the wrong shadow looks broken. Aim between the two.
Place a bounce card or a soft fill light below eye level to reach into the eye sockets and under the chin. A little lift is often all the eyes need.
You can also raise the fill height until the catchlight sits in the upper part of the eye, which reads as alert.
Keep the fill subtle so the shadow side still shows some shape.
Shadows on the wall behind the subject can be more distracting than shadows on the face. Move the person away from the wall and the cast shadow softens.
Keep lights off the wall or flag them so the background stays even. A bright patch behind the head pulls focus away.
Check the hair for hot spots from the back light and lower it if the rim turns into a streak.
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