Re: darken the daparts and lighten the light parts
Photoshop's Dodge and Burn tools might work well for this. To darken the darker areas, choose 'Shadows' from the Range menu on the options bar. Then go over your image using the Burn tool. To lighten the light areas, choose 'Highlights' from the Range menu and go over your image using the Dodge tool. Adjust the 'Exposure' setting (also on the options bar) as desired. That might give you better control than any selection method.