There's really no specific order that you have to go in. Generally speaking, take care of the worst issues first, and then tweak smaller issues next. For example, I'd correct white balance (or tone) first, then convert to B&W if the project is for a B&W photo. Then tweak contrast (via levels) and exact gray shades (also levels).
Red arrows mark off the tools I'd most commonly use:
photoshop-quickguide-ishot4.jpg
Sometimes the auto settings don't work well, and don't look good, so you just have to undo them and make manual adjustments to hue/saturation (or color balance). Pretty much everything you need is housed under the
Image or
Image > Adjustments menu.
When converting to B&W, the
Black & White filter works really well. It mimics real-world filters that you'd screw onto the front of a lens before shooting B&W images with B&W film. Newer digital-era photographers and non-photographers -- those who never shot B&W film -- may have a hard time understanding this concept. Filters essentially block certain spectrums of light, making the B&W values contrast differently. Any color can go light or dark, and the filter determines which way the value swings.
For example, the IR filter makes wood light:
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While another filter can make orange or red go dark:
ps-bwfilter-ishot5.jpg
Original (tweaked) color only shot:
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Converted to B&W with the "Maximum Black" B&W filter; no further tweaks (though it could use some):
ps-bwfilter-ishot6.jpg
This was shot this past fall (2011). A daddy bird was feeding what I believe was a pregnant momma bird. It's not a baby being fed. They flew further south before any eggs were laid, as best as I could tell. One day, they were all simply gone. The house has been empty since that time. I'll be cleaning it up in about 2-3 weeks, to see if any new occupants want to move in this spring or summer.
