Time for me to learn something - advice wanted

[mangurian]

I am a relative newbie to a decent camera. I bought a cheapo zoom and took some shots this morning. I have two original RAWS on my Google Drive together with some crops (link below).

I haven't a clue on how to post process. Do I just make them look good to me ?
Maybe my 77 year old eyes don't see things the way others do. I would like them to look good to my daughters and friends.

I think "look good to me" must be the answer, but I really don't know what to do first.
I would appreciate some guidance or examples.  Thanks in advance,

I have PaintShop Pro 2018, Photoshop CS2, and Canon's DPP4, AfterShot does not support my camera.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

[bruce1951]

We all started at the bottom of the editing ladder so don't feel bad about feeling overwhelmed.

If you really want to learn then RAW is fine. However if you 'just' want good images to show around I would suggest sticking with Jpegs. 99.9% of folks wont know or care.

RAW is often over stated. For those looking for 'perfection' then RAW is the way to go. But it requires work and can have a long learning curve.

At the end of the day it's all about what pleases you. Don't be bullied into thinking you have to 'conform' to be good at editing.

bruce

[hartpaul]

I did a Google search for Swallowtail butterfly and clicked on the images tab
https://www.google.com/search?q=swallow ... 20&bih=915

Your image compares very well with many of those images , some of which have been professionally shot.
However we have the ability to process images quickly now and make them larger or more vibrant than life. So it depend if you want a technically correct image or want to make the image jump out and create a WOW! factor.

I process my raw files from my Canon camera in DPP so if you are familiar with that then that is a simple way of getting a standard qigh quality jpg from your raw file to further process in PSP 2018
IN 2018 there are many things you could do. You can experiment as much as you wish and learn something new each time, BUT make sure you work on a copy of your best jpg and not on your original jpg.
One simple thing you could do:
In PSP 2018 Edit mode (Complete workspace) do Adjust > Hue and Saturation > Hue/Saturation/Lightness and just bump the left hand slider for Saturation up to 40. You will see a more colorful image that may please those you show so long as they do not know the colors are supposed to be muted.
As they say "Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder" and so with photographic images your changes may please others but most of all make the changes that please you.