There is, amongst subscribers of this forum, an apparently endless debate as to what true photography really is. Some belong to GIRITC crowd - i.e., "Get it right in the camera." These folk decry any form of post-processing, saying that an image altered in any way after the fact is not a true representation of the photographed scene at the instant of capture. True enough, although some GIRITC shooters will engage in PRE-processing, as in, changing the camera's settings (other than exposure, shutter speed, iso and flash) BEFORE capturing the shot. Which is, again, not a true representation of the photographed scene at the instant of capture. Others insist on shooting only jpegs, saying THAT format yields a true representation of the photographed scene at the instant of capture, because no settings are changed by the shooter prior to capture, AH, but the CAMERA, in capturing a jpeg image, is using its built-in software to decide how the image should appear. So the camera alters the images w/o input from the shooter, SO, one more time, this is not an altogether true representation of the photographed scene at the instant of capture.
Of course, this argument may be worth pursuing if one is intent on rendering an image as close as possible to the scene being photographed as it existed at the moment of capture. Such shooters are sometimes referred to as "purists" and in other situations as "photo-journalists." Now if that's the way one wishes to approach the craft of photography, well, that's fine. BUT, one person's snapshot is another person's news image is another person's Facebook/Twitter/Instagram shot.
But what if the shooter decides this isn't the way to go? What if the shooter wants to create an image that's not just what the camera sees, but what the shooter sees. Ah. The IPTMFAICI crowd. (I'll process the, um, image after I capture it.) This is when one moves into the area of, um, ART. Which, as an independent photographer, I have every right to do. You don't care for the approach? Fine. You go your way, and I'll go my way ... and I'll get to Loch Lorman aforrrree yeeee... (Sorry. Couldn't resist.). Ah, but I've run across an article which explains this concept quite clearly. And here 'tis, laddie.
http://photographylife.com/what-is-fine-art-photography#more-138580There is, amongst subscribers of this forum, an ap... (