/p/, what is your philosophy on post-processing, and how do you utilize it?

I'm relatively new to serious photography and shooting in RAW. I've only just started using Lightroom and begun to understand the potential of the program. Recovering shadows and un-fucking blown highlights is incredible to me. And I have no idea how to utilize the color treatment options. I've only recently mastered white balance and now I can screw with individual channels. I'm drunk with power.

But I don't know think I've achieved a tasteful balance between maintaining the integrity of the photo and bringing out the best in it. I'm wary of my photos looking fake and yet I also know some really great photography has that quality to it. For instance I am going through my photos from New York City, where I was shooting a lot of buildings. I edit the shots such that the sky and the buildings are probably exposed but then everything looks like an HDR shot. I reduce the vibrance and saturation a bit to counter that effect. I really like what I made but think people will see it as "oh that's a cool Photoshop" and not "oh that's a nice picture."

Maybe I just need the self-confidence to go with what I think looks best.

I'm curious to see what the board thinks about this stuff.