Shooting RAW is a good start, but only if you convert your images correctly. I don’t know what program you are using for RAW conversion but I would assume it is Canons DPP. Don’t be ascared to play with saturation & exposure settings in RAW or in whatever program you are using to edit the JPEGs. Thats what they are there for. We frown on garish saturation levels but not adjustments that make the photo pop.
If you are not going to play with your RAW files you would be better off shooting JPEG in camera and let the processor of the camera do the work. If you just convert the image as is, the result will be rather flat and dull.
Canon spent tons of money on R&D into that processor to make it produce a decent photo. Sometimes it even does a better job than what you can do yourself. (esp if you are not familiar with RAW conversion) Conversly you can shoot both a RAW file and JPEG in camera and see if you can do a better job processing the photo than the camera.
Another big tool is sharpening. I sharpen everything to 150% @ .3 pixels by default. It’s a bit heavy but I like it. I will back it off if it looks too unnatural but I find it to be the best overall setting.
Other than that I would say composition is the key. Look through U-Mans photos and you will see that even the ones that are not technically perfect his composition is what makes the photo.
And…Photoshop is the best tool on the market for editing bar none. PS CS4 cost $500 bucks for a reason.It’s a pro tool and nothing comes close.However, PS elements will do most stuff that an amateur photog need for under $100. Save your pennies shop around, you won’t regret it.
