shadow, silhouette, phantom
影 centers on a dark form cast by light: a shadow or silhouette. The phantom sense extends this to something insubstantial or ghostly, like a shadow without a solid source.
影 combines 景 (scene, view) with 彡 (hair, pattern), suggesting the patterned outline or shadow cast by a scene. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the phono-semantic structure with 景 contributing sound and meaning is broadly accepted.
The left side 景 shows a sunlit scene, and the right side 彡 looks like the faint lines of a shadow stretching out from it. Together they make 影, the shadow cast by a bright view.
For エイ, imagine a shadowy figure saying 'A' (エイ) as it points to its own silhouette: the long 'A' sound echoes the reading エイ.
influence; effect; impact
photography (still or motion); photographing; filming; shooting; (video) recording
shadow; silhouette; figure; shape
bad influence; negative influence
projection (of a shadow); casting (a reflection); reflection; cast shadow
face; looks; countenance
phantom; vision; illusion
portrait of a deceased person
body double; double
figure of a person; figures of people
shadow; shade; shading; gloom
moonlight; moon; moonbeams
divine spirit; spirit of the dead
contrast imaging
shadow picture; silhouette; shadowgraph
firelight; shadows or forms moving in firelight
granite
shadow figure; silhouette
projection
impression of a seal