Ok so.

I can't post the image, the photographer would be very upset... but please try to invision a photo in your mind of a family portait taken outside in light that resembles high noon with tons of trees casting huge shadows all over the people... so basically if one area of the person isn't almost blown out by the sun... then it's covered in tree shadows.  Would LOVE recommendations on how to fix this.

I mean sure I can spend hours dodging and burning.. and that's IF I can pull detail from the blown out parts... but really that's not feasible given the timeline.

So ANY help is appreciated!

If you have a raw image, you can process one for the bright spots and one for the shaded areas to get you a lot closer to neutral light.

Like a two image HDR.

Ugh....

Thank you.  I was so stressed out about all the work that needed to be done on it that I didn't even THINK of multiple RAW conversions.

Appreciate it!

Also if you can afford it, you can turn down work when you feel you can't salvage a photo with tricky lighting. You're a retoucher, not a miracle worker. Ask for samples first, don't sign on to a project without knowing what you have to work with

Try the free RawTherapee http://www.visualbakery.com/RawTherapee/Downloads.aspx
with its Highlight Reconstruction set to Color Propagation or Blend.

Other builds http://rawtherapee.com/downloads

As mentioned you can do it with multiple RAW images UR use Lightroom's brush which I hate.

Might want to look at nik's Viveza if you do much work like that.