Abstract: A method includes providing an input image to a diffusion model that is trained with image pairs that each include an overexposed image paired with a corresponding ground truth image, wherein one or more portions of the input image include overexposed pixels. The method further includes outputting, with the diffusion model, an intermediate image that includes corrected pixels that correspond to the one or more portions of the input image that include the overexposed pixels. The method further includes determining merge weights based on a brightness of pixels in the input image. The method further includes merging the intermediate image with the input image to generate an output image based on the merge weights. The method further includes performing tone mapping of the merged image.