Shadow / Highlight Recovery

Dedicated to experienced Paint.net users, Shadow / Highlight Recovery is a small-sized plugin that features rich customization settings for repairing photographs whose contrast is too strong.
This can be done by brightening shadows and darkening highlights to normalize the two levels. It also has a basic mode available for beginners.

Simple setup and interface

In order to get this add-on up and running, you simply have to copy the downloaded DLL file to the "Effects" directory in Paint.net, relaunch the tool to finalize setup and gain access to the new extension (if the image editor was already started), as well as select Shadow / Highlight Recovery from the "Effects" menu. It should have a small icon next to it that looks like the piece of a puzzle.
The configuration panel has a simple design and neatly structured layout, split into two separate panes for the basic and advanced features.

Brighten shadows and darken highlights

First-time users are free to adjust the shadows, highlights and smoothing levels, preview effects, and go through with the modifications if they're pleased with the outcome. Meanwhile, advanced Paint.net users can switch to the other pane to be able to further tweak options.
It's possible to set the amount, tonal range and saturation of shadows and highlights, indicate the local contrast radius and intensity along with the compression of the smoothing effect, as well as point out the red, green and blue channels of the color mask. All settings can be reviewed to decide whether you want to keep them or go back to make further tweaks.

Evaluation and conclusion

No recent updates have been made to Shadow / Highlight Recovery. However, we haven't come across any compatibility issues with the latest version of Paint.net in our tests. Images were quickly rendered during the preview mode.