Read a blog post that said to adjust the black point and white balance first. Honestly, small bumps to contrast and saturation work better than big swings. Ngl, masking the sky separately lets you fix just the stars without touching the whole image.
Masking the sky separately for stars? That's basic editing. But black point before white balance? That guide has it all wrong. Tried that on a lake reflection photo once. The water turned this nasty green color. Had to start over from the raw file. Always balance whites first now.