I don't really like HDR. I don't like 1-click solutions for photo editing.

I customize the exposure to start. Depending on the image, I'll mess with things differently but I play with the highlights, shadows, whites and blacks all separately.

I like a bit more contrast in my photos so I'll play around with those settings and I brighten my colours up.

There are a few other settings I'll mess with but those are the big ones.