That bokeh is distracting.. your flower isn't sharp either

2nd one is under.

Always check your histogram.

meaning, left side of the graph is shadows, right side is highlights, the entire range of the graph is what your camera can capture, anything outside of it is clipped (which shows as 0,0,0 for total black, or 256, 256, 256 for total white) which in this case, there is no data recorded, no matter how good your post processing skills are, will not be able to retrieve anything.

so always keep the graph well within the middle of range. (different if you are looking for high-key / low-key shots) it is also worth reading about "exposing to the right" on google.

taking your shot as example, the graph is bunched up to the left, which is where the shadows are, which show in your image as the black area of leaves and branches. little or no details will be found there.

the 3rd quarter of the graph is not clipped = the sky in your image. there are plenty of image data there.

i always use this function when im shooting under the bright sun when i cant judge the image's luminosity on the LCD screen. the histogram will tell me all i need to know whether my image is properly exposed or not.

i wouldnt say that more highlight = more details, just as long as the data falls within the range, then all details will be there. to "expose right" is because noise tend to linger more in the shadows, taking 2 images of the same subject which all data is properly recorded within the dynamic range for example, one is dark, another is bright, to brighten up a dark picture will introduce more noise than to darken a bright picture. that's the logic behind it.

and yes, shooting in RAW will retain more details, but by paying the price of post processing time and a larger file size. by shooting in RAW, the dynamic range effectively broadens up by 1-2 stops on each end.

EOS 20D + 10-22mm f/3.5