tool/effect tutorials

[Anti]

So, after a few days I know *what* the tools do to the photo.
Where can I learn *how* to use them to make a photo as good as it can be?

At the moment, I'm getting improvements to family snaps by applying the autotone
and punch presets, redeye, selective exposure with the brush & gradients, heal, and
cropping/angles.

But I feel that I'm just 'tidying up' badly taken photos, and that there's probably more
I can do to them, artistically speaking, but I don't know what!

Where do I go to learn how to how to put a bit of 'wow factor' or atmosphere into
these photos? Or will a family snap always just be a family snap?

Thanks.

 

[breyman]

There are a ton of resources available on how to do this. A lot comes from experience.

Others may jump in with other recommendations. Mine will be a book by Scott Kelby (one of my favorite authors), Scott Kelby's 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3. Even though it says for Photoshop CS3, it prescribes a great way to approach fixing up a photo, with details that are directly applicable to Lightroom (he talks about how he choose to walk through the panels on the right in Camera Raw/Lightroom). This is a great beginner workflow book and I'd highly recommend it.