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As most of my photography takes place while traveling, usually in places I’ve not been before, I am often unable to be there at the optimum time for getting the best possible photograph - the weather may not be cooperating or I may be in a place that would have been better in the morning, rather than the afternoon. So I am not one of those people who strive to get the perfect photo in the camera - my emphasis instead is on getting the best composition I can.
To make up for those inconsistencies, I rely on post editing using both Lightroom and Photoshop on almost every photo.
My aim in editing is to get as realistic a product as my memory allows. Since I shoot in RAW it is usually necessary to boost the color a bit and I do this using Photoshop’s LAB color space
Dan Margulis's "Photoshop LAB Color: The Canyon Conundrum" is where I learned the fairly simple steps that I use. It avoids editing in RGB and making changes to contrast that adversely affect color and vice versa.
LAB (L = lightness, A = green and magenta colors, B =blue and yellow colors) allows contrast modifications to be made in the L channel without affecting color, and color changes in A and B that don't affect contrast.
This approach lets colors be emphasized when it makes sense. It also means that correcting shadows/highlights and sharpening are done to the lightness channel, which avoids introducing color anomalies. My experience is that the results are more realistic and much easier to accomplish
I also use Lightroom’s Develop tools to further modify color, contrast, and sharpness after the LAB changes in Photoshop. I crop when I find that my original composition idea can be improved or to get rid of distracting minor elements on the edges of photos.