When I shoot I never really try to visualize the post processed image - yet I'm trying to change that and get better at shooting for color.

I do recognize that I "got the shot" -- or that something is going to look really good and for the most part that the "got the shot" is all about pure composition and back at the "Lab" the hyper critical judgement appears.

Exposure is good for about 2-stops, anything else and I'm really reaching and the NEF file just falls apart - but focus - if it's not in focus, or if it's not to my standard -- well, then it's DTM - Dead To Me.

And sometimes that is a realy bummer.

The Bokeh on this is really busy in the lower left of the frame - the circles of confusion are, well... very confusing and distracting - but - it's all I got, and I'm hoping that I'm being a bit too critical - and I'm letting the color be the subject to some extent.

This is rendered with X-equals "Kodak Kodachrome 25 Curve" LRoom preset - it punches the colors and adds almost a halo gradient between the separation - of which I really like. Once again -- and I've said it before,
X-Equals and the work being done by MWGray at Life in Digital Film the creator of these presets is stunning.

I don't add vignets or anything artifical to add drama when I post process -- I will add a graduated filter to control exposure usually no more then 1/2 a stop. And here's my cookbook - If I can notice that it looks fake - then that is bad.