>>3653095that's a much nicer edit in my view.
So color-grading isn't exactly useless. But there has to be something in that picture to warrant the exact color grading you're gonna apply. Like in my view you shouldn't have to "paint up" entirely new colors in the picture. That to me is the primal problem with your first edit.
Color-grading can help a lot, but only if it enhances already existent lights in the images. This pretty much applies to everything else post-processing. Your picture is gonna look the best if post-processing either: A) enhances the things that are already there or B) clean up what doesn't fit in your theme.
Pic related
