Shadow/Highlight Adjustments:

This is a mini-tutorial on image editing in Photoshop CS. I loved this picture of my daughter on Capital Hill in Washington DC. But as you can see the picture is a little dark in the foreground. Photoshop CS comes with a easy to use image editing tool called Shadow/Highlights.

Although my picture is well exposed for the majority of the picture, I have lost some of the detail in the trees. It is very difficult to get an even exposure between the light sky and the darker foreground.

It is always best to work on a copy of your original. Make a copy and work on this. Use the Shadows/Highlights filter to enhance the areas of shadows in an otherwise will-lit image. Go to Image >adjustments > Shadow/Highlights. Open up the more options by clicking in the box.

I have made one simple adjustment. I have changed the shadows to 15% which brightens up the shadow area.

The dark area of the foreground is now lighter and you can see more detail. I have lightened up the shadows without damaging the exposure of the already light sky. I have left the highlights alone (sky). If I had adjusted the highlights the sky would have appeared burned out.

This a very simple and fast fix for your photos. Have Fun!!