How to reduce shadow in these outdoor photos?

I like visiting a local chalk festival held in summer. At that time of year the sun is very bright, and the artists use umbrellas to shield themselves from
the sun. Artists use chalk to create artwork on the sidewalk. Because of the umbrellas, there is both bright light and shadows on the artwork.

How can I reduce the shadow area? Through post-processing? I've thought about using a flash. I have never used flash before. And if I did, maybe the
flash would annoy the artists and spectators.

Looking for your recommendations. Here's a couple of photos...

Without flash you can't do much. In processing you can raise the shadows some and if you really work at it you might mask it and even things out a bit more. Honestly even using flash you would be hard pressed to get even lighting as a Speedlite would be insufficient to compete with the midday sun. Having attended those types of festivals your best bet is wait until the artists are done and the late day sun gives your more even light.

You can also bracket your exposures. Take three or more shots, one exposed for the sun, one for the shadow, and one or more in between the others.

Then photo merge them smoothing out the transitions so it looks natural.

Some cameras can do this automatically. Usually called HDR mode. The automatic mode may work OK for you. Just make sure no people are moving in the scene when you take the shot.

Flash would definitely help in the future but unfortunately, it will do nothing now. Not sure what photo processor you are using or if the originals are raw or jpeg, but assuming Lightroom or Photoshop and raw originals, you might try boosting the shadows and tone down the highlights. Try playing around with some of the settings. It should help quite a bit. If they are jpegs, you can play around with the curves, but yoiu won't have a lot of latitude to play with.

Nogo wrote in post #19363076
You can also bracket your exposures. Take three or more shots, one exposed for the sun, one for the shadow, and one or more in between the others.

Then photo merge them smoothing out the transitions so it looks natural.

Some cameras can do this automatically. Usually called HDR mode. The automatic mode may work OK for you. Just make sure no people are moving in the scene when you take the shot.

Sounds interesting. My 6D does have a HDR mode, I'll give it a try. Thanks.

gjl711 wrote in post #19363087
Flash would definitely help in the future but unfortunately, it will do nothing now. Not sure what photo processor you are using or if the originals are raw or jpeg, but assuming Lightroom or Photoshop and raw originals, you might try boosting the shadows and tone down the highlights. Try playing around with some of the settings. It should help quite a bit. If they are jpegs, you can play around with the curves, but yoiu won't have a lot of latitude to play with.

I shoot raw and use Canon's DPP. I use the shadow and highlight sliders to minimize the bright/dark areas. But it can only do so much.
My guess is that LR/PS can do a much better job. Thanks for the ideas.

gonzogolf wrote in post #19363066
Without flash you can't do much. In processing you can raise the shadows some and if you really work at it you might mask it and even things out a bit more. Honestly even using flash you would be hard pressed to get even lighting as a Speedlite would be insufficient to compete with the midday sun. Having attended those types of festivals your best bet is wait until the artists are done and the late day sun gives your more even light.

Thanks.

I have never used flash before. I'm thinking flash would reduce the shadows, but maybe over-brighten the areas that are in the direct sun light.
So flash may have a drawback. Also, an artist might not like a flash going off while they are working.

Perfectly Frank wrote in post #19363335
Thanks.

I have never used flash before. I'm thinking flash would reduce the shadows, but maybe over-brighten the areas that are in the direct sun light.
So flash may have a drawback. Also, an artist might not like a flash going off while they are working.

Look at using fill-flash. In direct sunlight, the effect a flash has is minimal as it's already very bright but it will have a rather large effect in the shadows. If you do a search on "fill flash in outdoor photography", there are lots of decent tutorials.

gonzogolf wrote in post #19363066
Having attended those types of festivals your best bet is wait until the artists are done and the late day sun gives your more even light.

Good idea. Or maybe go the next day after the event is over and all the umbrellas have been removed. Hopefully the artwork will be undisturbed.

Perfectly Frank wrote in post #19363328
I shoot raw and use Canon's DPP. I use the shadow and highlight sliders to minimize the bright/dark areas. But it can only do so much.
My guess is that LR/PS can do a much better job. Thanks for the ideas.

Actually, DPP is quite good. You'll not get better results in either LR or PS I think. In PS you could try to process one image for the highlights and another for the shadows and merge them (tone-mapping).

Perfectly Frank wrote in post #19363335
Thanks.

I have never used flash before. I'm thinking flash would reduce the shadows, but maybe over-brighten the areas that are in the direct sun light.
So flash may have a drawback. Also, an artist might not like a flash going off while they are working.

Flash on a bright sunny day is hardly noticeable and unlikely to bother anyone. As for blowing out the highlights the way to do it is to underexpose the entire scene before you add in the flash (ambient exposure) and the flash evens out the light. I still don't think a speedlight will have enough power to cover that scene in bright day

Don't be silly it is public event and they want it to be exposed.
Make sure you'll get Canon ETTL-2 flash. The rest might be not compatible, worth it.
I paid for 430 EX II years ago at it worked for professional shots and still works.
HSS is one of the reasons to have Canon on Canon.

Perfectly Frank wrote in post #19363335
Thanks.

I have never used flash before. I'm thinking flash would reduce the shadows, but maybe over-brighten the areas that are in the direct sun light.
So flash may have a drawback. Also, an artist might not like a flash going off while they are working.

gonzogolf wrote in post #19363393
Flash on a bright sunny day is hardly noticeable and unlikely to bother anyone. As for blowing out the highlights the way to do it is to underexpose the entire scene before you add in the flash (ambient exposure) and the flash evens out the light. I still don't think a speedlight will have enough power to cover that scene in bright day

Flash on a sunny day hardly increases exposure in sunlit areas! Assuming typical Sunny 16 conditions with ISO 100 setting...

1. Sun illuminated area is 1/100 f/16
   
2. Shade illuminated area is usually about 1/100 f/5.6
   
3. If using Canon 580EX at 50mm FL setting, at ISO 100 its Guide Number is about 135...or 15' at f/9...about -1.66EV compared to the sunlit area. So shadow areas is f/9 at 15', brightened considerably from f/5.6
   
4. But if you think of f/8 as 'one part of light' and f/16 as 'four parts of light', the area getting both sun and flash gets 'five parts of light' or scarcely 0.25EV brighter than sun alone! (something that gets 'four parts of light' has to get 'eight parts of light' in order for it to be 1EV brighter!)
   

IMAGE LINK: https://app.photobucke​t.com …8b-422c-9822-c64882306508

IMAGE LINK: https://app.photobucke​t.com …96-45bb-9a52-d2b40c759b31

A combination of post processing (images like the first image) where you mask off the shadowed areas and then selectively lighten them, and use of a flash unit for future shots of a similar nature (second shot). I'm still getting a handle on masking type edits myself, but they're sure handy to learn; and on/off camera flash takes a small bit of learning but it isn't really overwhelming to get to a very basic understanding for this level of usage. The flash forums here are a trove of really useful 'getting started' stickies and discussion that can help with that.

Perfectly Frank wrote in post #19363060
I like visiting a local chalk festival held in summer. At that time of year the sun is very bright, and the artists use umbrellas to shield themselves from
the sun. Artists use chalk to create artwork on the sidewalk. Because of the umbrellas, there is both bright light and shadows on the artwork.

How can I reduce the shadow area? Through post-processing? I've thought about using a flash. I have never used flash before. And if I did, maybe the
flash would annoy the artists and spectators.

Looking for your recommendations. Here's a couple of photos...

Hosted photo: posted by Perfectly Frank in
./showthread.php?p=193​63060&i=i52186555
forum: General Photography Talk

Hosted photo: posted by Perfectly Frank in
./showthread.php?p=193​63060&i=i23916734
forum: General Photography Talk

It is possible to remove the shadow areas to an acceptable level if you have Photoshop. I worked on the bottom portion of the first photo. It took a few minutes but the results were acceptable. A raw file would be easier and produce better results. I can post the edit if you want with your permission.