Fixing those Darn Shadows!

Okay, I've been asked about this a lot lately...must be because everyone is getting outside again and that darn sun is ruining our shots. SHADOWS! What to do about those darn shadows on the face? Well, there IS an answer to your problems...you have to use the Camera Raw Editor, but even if you didn't shoot in RAW, you can still open a JPG in the raw editor...you just won't have as nice of results at the high resolution. But, it's an option, right? Okay, I know this image is VERY small, but it was the easiest way to show what to do. The top left shot is unedited, well besides a little exposure boost...in my Tone Curve Menu, all toggles are set to 0. In the second shot (bottom left), I started editing the Darks and Shadows menus. I slid the toggle on the Darks Menu to +23 and the Shadows to +33. Much better, right? But now the highlights on her face are washed out. In the top right photo I slid the toggle on the Highlights and Lights menu the other way to -31 so she isn't glowing on one side of her face. The last image is the finished product. Much better right? Now I can actually see her excitement better (she was running towards hidden Easter Eggs!)