I think you need to start with a good image to have a high quality image after processing. There are a few things at play here. I'm one of those who tries to get it right in camera and do minimum post processing. How much post processing depends on each image. For example, when deciding whether or not to bump up the ISO to get the shot, I know I can resolve some of the noise in PP. I also don't have a problem recovering shadows and highlights and making other minor adjustments. To me, a high quality image is a high quality image.
While post processing is necessary when shooting RAW, how much is done is up to each photographer. Unless you're submitting photos to an entity that enforces certain rules, there are no rules. While I have self imposed rules on how much I will modify an image, those rules are for me. Post processing can be an art form in itself and I love some of the composits, mixed media, and even HDR work I've seen. I just don't do it, except when I'm playing around with the software for fun.
I have a mentor who got me involved in bird photography as I was heading into retirement and gives me pointers and lots of opportunity to practice. The quality (sharpness, subject, composition, etc.) of my recent images, when compared with the photos I took a few years ago, is obviously much better. I credit this with taking lots of shots and then actually studying the results and the camera settings used to make them. I also upgraded my 25 year old wobbly tripod with a much sturdier one. Another suggestion from my mentor is to only share my best work. He told me to learn from what didn't work and make adjustment, but don't post inferior images. I've become much more critical of my work and delete many images on my first pass.
To the original question; if you're talking about proper focus, DOF, sharpness, and composition, it's tough to improve those in PP without it being obvious "extra" work was done. Cropping can help composition, but an out of focus shot remains out of focus. Over saturating sunsets can grab a viewers attention, but to other photographers it's obvious that the saturation slider was really pushed.
I have a friend who can spend hours "tweaking" an image. He loves LR and Photoshop and is an expert in the software and loves working with it. I usually spend less than a minute processing an image so I have more time to spend in the field with my gear. Each to his own. By the way, I love my friends images, when he finally finishes processing them.
Hi Steve,
Another application to take a look at is Capture One. You can get a 30 day free trial version of it and see what you think. You can also find a lot of free videos about it on the Internet. Capture One is the software owned by Phase One. You can either subscribe to the software or purchase it outright, which is always my choice.
I run the application on my iMac, having migrated from Aperture, and like it much better than the Adobe products I tried, but that is just personal preference.
Good luck on the migration to a new program. Phase One offers a lot of free webinars and videos, plus the expected application support. You will probably find more people using LR and PS, if you need local assistance, but there is also a fairly large installed base of Capture One users, although they tend to be some of the high end photographers using medium format cameras.
Just thought I'd give you another option.
Alan