Is Photoshop Cheating?

There are those among us who think if you do anything to your photo after you take the picture then that's cheating.

If one painter only has a dozen colors to work with and one has 64 colors to begin with, are they cheating to use the extra colors they have available?

Do I cheat? Yes, I do and I'm proud of it. I will lighten eyes, darken skin, remove pimples, increase contrast, increase color saturation, and occasionaly do something creative like this.

I create images to give an emotional response to the viewer. I consider Photoshop and other computer programs like it as tools of the trade. This arguement is not something new. I remember when some argued that it was cheating to use filters, or electronic flash. The only thing that I consider cheating in photography, is when the photographer closes his or her mind and stops trying to be as creative as possible.

The Emotion of Color

I showed this photo to the mother recently and she said, "It kind of creeped her out." Keep in mind she had two miscarriages before this child and this one was a life and death struggle for the first several months.


The same mother had no problem with the B&W baby and a bright pink bow in the hair.


This made me curious about how color or lack there of can effect the emotional state of the viewer. Obviously personal history has a lot to do with it, but I post this shot with a general question.

How does it make YOU feel?