retouching
It endlessly amazes me how little of my time making a great photo has anything to do with the camera. Sure, the source image needs to be solid and workable, but the real magic and sparkle of an amazing image comes from the processing. A dizzying combination of Lightroom, Photoshop, visual sensibility, and creative cunnning. All of these combine to help a good photo become stunning.
Here are a few example of what that kind of magic can do.