Correct The Exposure: Shadows & Highlights Filter

Step 3: Adjust Opacity

Since there is not much left to explain about this filter here is what I've done after running the filter: on the resulting two layers I played with the opacity until I considered I got the best result: 90% opacity on "fix shadows" layer (which actually increases the highlights, recovers shadows detail) and 25% opacity on "fix highlights" layer (which actually increases the shadows, reduces the excessive light), but feel free to experiment with any values you like:

On the left is the original image, on the right the corrected one (click on each one to enlarge):

If you are interested in fixing shadows and highlights using only standard tools, or if you want to have more control over the corrections, please read Correct The Exposure: Multiply & Screen Blending Modes tutorial.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and you find it useful!
By the way, if by any chance you do not know already, The GIMP is a completely free alternative to Photoshop and it runs under Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.

Thanks for reading!