TAKING GREAT SHOTS with lower-budget gear...

[Jordan]

Right out of the camera? That first shot looks HEAVILY HDR'd! Yes, it definitely is the photographer, but we're all photographers here and that's not really the point. The point is, as a photographer, what are the tricks or tools I can employ to get better results with existing gear?

[Ehcalum]

Topaz Adjust spicify on the original.

[Jordan]

That looked like Topaz Adjust... I use it too and I LOVE it But it does produce a lot of noise as I can see in the image and so needs reduction (NoiseWare Pro is what I use and it's great). I have to say though, I'm not complaining. In fact I really like that photo. Only mentioned that because I wanted to note that it was edited heavily. It's a great image in my opinion!

[Ehcalum]

It was also shot at like 640 ISO or something of the sort...