Case and point: off-color black and white photos. I see this a lot where someone takes a picture of someone and changes it some cream-tinted weirdness. Granted occasionally it does look good and has a place, but I think this kind of stuff is way too overused and therefore kind of bush league and very unprofessional.
Don't feel like you have to prove your creative. That shit's for jr. high. Just take good pictures.
I think the best stuff I've seen is the stuff you can't tell were photoshopped. All pictures should be taken through some kind of post program before delivery, but the best one are the ones that you can't tell what's been done to them.
Check out this guy, Greg Miller. he does large format photography on a 100 year old 8X10 camera. This is some of the most beautiful stuff I've seen recently and he doesn't add a ton of worthless effects, he lets his images speak for themselves.
And that's what my photography goal is for now. To take pictures that don't have to rely on photoshop tricks to make them look good. There's something called the "13% Rule", which is the idea that subtlety in post is what wins. Don't go overboard with your effects. Yes add curves, levels, vibrance, saturation, but keep them down low so that they're not taking over the image.
I've heard that if you take 1 great photo out of entire roll of film, you're doing pretty good. 1 in 36 photos sounds pretty simple but there's a big difference between taking good pictures, and taking great ones.
