New technique for tone curve

Was working on a photo of a product that was white and reflective, altho our lousy Canon consumer level camera showed it with all sorts of grain.  So the shadows were integrated into the flat surfaces, along with the grain and the inherent color spreads from the lighting.  How to make it all picture perfect? 

Going to tone-curves, I first used the info docker to find the upper and lower bounds of the lighting  ~  179~210 (RGB).  Then I set a control point at the two ends corresponding in the tone curve and experimented moving the two end points up and down, essentially creating a flat area in the tone curve.  As I did so, I could see the updates either enhancing the shadows or diminishing them.  I was able ultimately to almost completely eliminate the shadows without any nasty side effects.  With more complex photos, of course, it might be necessary to isolate areas with masks.