jackpi Loc: Southwest Ohio

I process to please me. And what pleases me has changed over time. I don't care what other people think of my processed images.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Do what you want, it's your art!!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The unprocessed image is not worth sharing.

DanF Loc: Wichita, KS

No argument here that using AI, like generative fill in Photoshop, can be a creative process. But at some point doesn’t it cross over to computer aided illustration and cease to be photography? I like a great illustration! Some of my best friends…

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Every successful photographer is driven by an inner voice telling them everyone else is using PhotoShop.

terryMc Loc: Arizona's White Mountains

I think this post is about "overuse" isn't it? Some people still maintain that any use of Photoshop is the same as letting the computer create an image for you, and that is mostly because they don't know how to use Photoshop (or have only a cursory understanding of what you can do with it) to enhance your image, refuse to learn, and have the silly idea that a camera firmware algorithm-created jpeg is the "real" photo.

I think the "Photoshop is the same as AI" attitude is disproven when you compare what two or more different people would do to the same image in post-processing. After all, the OP is about why some people go overboard and others don't, and which is "better," and seems to be asking if it is the skill or lack of it (with Photoshop, et al) that makes the difference. AI does it all for you, but In Photoshop your knowledge of the tools and techniques makes all the difference.

Photos, whether analog or digital, have always had to be processed to get a final image to display, and it has always been up to the photographer how much processing to apply. If you like it, you like it; if you don't, you don't. It's the same with any art form, isn't it?.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Those who can do, do. Those who cannot, complain.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I suspect most women edit how they look in the mirror rather than look natural.😁 Us guys just sniff our clothes and unless they make our eyes water, they are good to wear another day.

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

I look at my product from when "HDR" was the rage and it's, well, kinda brash if you get what I mean. Over the years I've graduated toward a more "natural" look, mostly because I now know the difference...<shrug> but, really, it's what looks good to me in the end.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Or teach.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Shooting RAW is a pathway to photography success that some consider to be unnatural.

DanF Loc: Wichita, KS

Just as the unexamined life is not worth living, so the unexamined art form is not worth participating in. One can do AND have an opinion!

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

I do!

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

The over processed image is not worth sharing!