Everything you need to know about Highlights / Shadows
Highlights / Shadows lets you independently adjust the brightness of light and dark areas in your image. Recover detail in blown-out highlights, lift crushed shadows, or create dramatic tonal effects – all without affecting the midtones.
Parameters
- Strength
Controls how much of the adjustment is applied. At 0, no change is visible. At 1.0, the full shadows/highlights adjustment is applied. - Shadows
Adjusts the brightness of dark areas only. Positive values (+0.1 to +1.0) lift shadows, revealing hidden detail in dark regions. Negative values (-1.0 to 0) deepen shadows for more contrast and drama. - Highlights
Adjusts the brightness of light areas only. Positive values (+0.1 to +1.0) recover detail in bright areas by pulling them down. Negative values (-1.0 to 0) brighten highlights for a more airy, luminous look.
How It Works
The filter uses luminance masks to isolate shadows (dark pixels) and highlights (bright pixels). Adjustments are smoothly blended so changes only affect the targeted tonal range without harsh transitions. Midtones remain largely unaffected.
Tips
- Lift shadows (+0.2 to +0.5) to recover detail in underexposed areas
- Pull down highlights (+0.2 to +0.4) to recover blown-out skies or windows
- Push shadows negative and highlights positive for increased contrast
- This is often one of the most useful adjustments for high-contrast scenes