Related Articles

•  Editing, Portrait Editing and Retouching.

Introduction

• Shadows are more complex than you would think, and you can't normally turn a shadow into a mid-tone simply by brightening it up.
• Merge with Retouching Shadows.

How to Edit Shadows

• The most accurate way to edit shadows is using Shadows & Highlights (Menu> Image> Adjustments > Shadows & Highlights), however this is destructive and there is not an Adjustment Layer which does the same thing non destructively. However, you can convert the image to a Smart Object and apply this as a Smart Filter. The Radius function applies contrast between shadow tones in much the same way as Clarity does to Midtones. 

Videos

• How to Remove Shadows from a Photo in Photoshop - photoshopCAFE