Element 3d

If you have properly set up your scene in Element 3D and created a plane to catch the shadow and turned on Mask Shadow, and you enabled shadows using Ray-Tracing or Shadow Mapping. Here are screenshots of the things I modified in a very basic setup in Element and the comp:

You should bookmark the Element user guide. The plugin is almost as complex as a full-fledged 3D app and almost impossible to use efficiently without several hours of study and experimentation.

If you want lights to respond to an imported OBJ file you may have to edit the materials. You will definitely need to add a plane to catch the shadow.

This will get you started: https://www.videocopilot.net/docs/element2/ 

And here's an AE 2020 Project file for you to play with: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uyi540yuqvu6o9w/element%20shadows.aep?dl=0

(note: if your browser adds a .txt extension to the AEP file just delete it)

No offense, but saying "My OpenGL is not the problem." When we don't know the first thing about your system is just not helpful. You have to provide system information no matter what. Other than that of course we need to know some details about your OBJ files, like where they were created, what their geometry looks like and so on.

Mylenium