HDR blend can't quite present the extremes of light and shadow in this kitchen shot....
With careful masking and local curves and HSL adjustments, both zones can be presented optimally.
Ambient shot...
manually layering a flashed shot and enhancing the view brings the scene to life.
Window pull via masked in exposure
Window pull via masked in exposure
Tungsten lamps can create an overly warm cast....
... a more balanced result via selective masking and HSL adjustments.
HDR blend....
... benefits from removal of colour casts on walls and ceilings and smoothing out bedsheets.
Mixed light sources can only be white balanced one way....
a lot of careful masking ensures a more neutral look for better image contrast.
Flash filled single RAW image....
whites cleaned up and window views enhanced, with reflections removed.
Ambient image: global adjustments can only go so far....
With pen tool created masks, texture can be enhanced where needed, colour fidelity can be restored and local object contrast increased as the ambient light is too omni-directional.
The table top in this image could have benefitted from a polariser filter to cut down on the reflection...
via locally applied adjustments we can restore some contrast and cut down on the flare.
Below: this image of a hairdresser's salon suffered from a number of flare issues caused by the overhead lights, leading to weak contrast and colour saturation elsewhere in the image. The combination of luminance sources of differing white balance also led to colour casts and contamination. With careful masking and adjustments, the impact of the original scene was restored ....