Appreciate everybodies thoughts.
My beef is really not with the obvious PP enhanced image- the graphic artist wants to show case their PP skills and there is no secret. My beef is the "fraudulent" photographer. The photographer who showcases their photographic skill but really it is a highly skilled montage.
I really brought up this subject in my own pursuit of becoming a better photographer. In order to do so I have studied some of the most popular photographers in this and other forums.
Especially in environmental portrait photography I have wondered "how do they get the face and the background exposed correctly in the same shot without the use of fill light". What are these photographers doing to make their shots jump off the page? I would compare my own shots with those I was looking at, and eventually come to the conclusion - I will never be able to be that good (great) - I am missing the "mojo" factor. You know the feeling when you (or the better half) have cooked up a meal, then you taste it and you know, there is something missing but you just cannot put your finger on it.
I was becoming very frustrated. I had spent a lot of time in the last 30 years learning and practising exposure, shutter speed, ISO, lighting, teaching a model how to pose, using good equipment, taking some pretty harsh criticism on forums blah blah blah. In the end I come to the conclusion I will never improve - I just have not got that artistic ability to have my images appreciated by my fellow photographers (the highest accolade).
The penny finally dropped when i started seeing some before and after shots. I realised the photographer/s in question were not any better than myself - I realised the "mojo" I was missing was not my photographic skills, but my post processing skills. The untouched image was in some cases not as good as I was doing. I also realised of the 1000's of rejected photographs I have on my computer, they are just one step away from becoming good "images" - I just need to improve my post processing skills.
If I really want to fast track this quest for "greatness", I could concentrate on my taking of photographs and outsource the post processing to somebody who specialises in that type of work. But then again I would still have to look at myself in the mirror next day, so this is not going to happen, (until I enter the next AP competition
).
So the next time you leave a comment on a thread "great shot" what are you really commenting on - the "photograph" or the "image".