Am I doing this right?

These are my first attempts at editing RAW files and then coverting to JPEG. Please let me know if I am doing something wrong, or if I should try something else. Let me know if I should attach the original RAW files.
The first one is the JPEG straight out of the camera.

I have a few comments and questions:

1) The first two look very much like the flowers I shot this afternoon.

2) If you look critically at the first series, what becomes noticeable is that the nice clean green background has some brown areas at the top. I hesitate to use the word "distracting" because there was a thread about the most over-used word in critiquing and it was - "distracting". So I'll say the brown areas draw our attention from the prime focus of attention. This is one of the hardest parts of flower photography, particularly with irises - they are often planted by themselves with plenty of nice attractive dirt showing. Getting a clean uniform background is tough to say the least.

3) Other than that, I'd say you've done well.

4) My philosophy on flowers is that they have so much detail and interesting points, that a secondary point of interest is not necessary (the background), so I attempt to blur it as much as possible. Quite different from landscape photography.

5) I see you shoot both RAW and JPEG at the same time - is there any reason you take the JPEG image? I have found that flowers can take quite a bit of work in PP, and the RAW file provides so much more control than the JPEG.

6) I don't know which software you are using; I use Lightroom, and there is a neat set of controls called "Camera Calibration". After reading Martin Evening's LR book, I tried increasing the both the Red and Blue Primary Saturation levels - some might think this is deviating from the true colours, but it really makes the violets, purples, etc pop. It's a matter of personal choice.

7) Sometimes I decrease the Luminance of the flower parts which seems to give them a bit more punch, but too much reduces the detail. I don't usually increase Saturation.

8) I'm never quite happy with the colour of green of most foliage - too yellowish green for my taste, so I change the HUE of the greenery to make it slightly less yellow and a wee bit more blue. Again, this is personal taste, but I offer it as an idea.

After this ramble, I'm sure you can offer me some tips in PP - I would welcome them.

Honestly the reason I shoot and had shot this set in both RAW and JPEG is because RAW scares me because I have never used it or done anything with it before. So in the back of my mind that JPEG is there and it puts my mind to ease. I want to change that, I want to be able to shot in RAW and not have to worry, and with some practice in editing RAW file and getting comfortable with it I will just shoot in RAW.

I am using Capture One LE right now because I got it for free. I am just not sure if what I am doing to the pictures with the software is correct. If it over done and not real looking, or not enough was done with the picture? All this PP is very new to me the last camera that I really used be for this were both my mothers one was a Canon Rebel 35mm and (please keep the booing down) a Nikkormat FT2 that was purchased in 1976. My BF had a Kodak Easyshare that I never really used because it just did not feel right so when that crapped out I told him I was going to be picking out the next camera so I got the logical step for me the XT.

Talk about rambling, I would not even try to give you any advice I have not been doing this long enough (PP). I have maybe spent about 20 hours actually working with the this Capture One LE software. But I thank you very much for your compliments and will keep everything you said in mind.

Once you become comfortable using RAW, stop shooting RAW + JPEG. It just takes up space on your CF card and your hard drive. Looks like you're doing just fine.

liza wrote in post #3272753
Once you become comfortable using RAW, stop shooting RAW + JPEG. It just takes up space on your CF card and your hard drive. Looks like you're doing just fine.

Yes, and yes.

When it comes to PP, my approach is; "If it looks good, it is".

After all, that's what it's all about, there are no words or music.

Glenn NK wrote in post #3272563
I have a few comments and questions:

2) If you look critically at the first series, what becomes noticeable is that the nice clean green background has some brown areas at the top.

8) I'm never quite happy with the colour of green of most foliage - too yellowish green for my taste, so I change the HUE of the greenery to make it slightly less yellow and a wee bit more blue. Again, this is personal taste, but I offer it as an idea.

i agree, what's great about a shot like this though is that the brown can easily be colored green b/c you have no idea what it's supposed to be because it's so out of focus.

i also agree with your green color comments - i find that most of the time in my own photos i end up tinting the green towards cyan. i don't know what it is, but in my experience my greens always look yellow/green like you said. i wonder if it's a digital thing? more than likely it's a personal preference perhaps?

SgWRX wrote in post #3273292
i agree, what's great about a shot like this though is that the brown can easily be colored green b/c you have no idea what it's supposed to be because it's so out of focus.

i also agree with your green color comments - i find that most of the time in my own photos i end up tinting the green towards cyan. i don't know what it is, but in my experience my greens always look yellow/green like you said. i wonder if it's a digital thing? more than likely it's a personal preference perhaps?

1) Changing large areas is not so easy (not possible) with Lightroom, although for small spots, blemishes, etc. I'm getting better at it.

2) Glad to hear I'm not the only one with the "yellow aversion". Oddly, I never seem to notice it in the field, but I invariably shift the greens towards cyan (blue) and away from yellow.

Has anyone else noticed this?