Too Many Effects

I like this image. I particularly like the vignetting at the edges and the split tone color effect. If I had the beta of Lightroom 3 at the time I processed this image, I probably would have added a lot of grain. I like cheesy effects. Sometimes I make myself sick.

The real issue here is how much becomes too much? At what point am I tarting up an image with effects to hide its mediocrity? When everything I shot was on slide film, I treated the processed transparency as the final image. When I scanned the image, the only adjustments I would make were to get the digital version as close as possible to the original slide. But when I shoot digitally, I know I will take the image through a “digital development” stage and so I feel freer to meddle.

But if the effects used in the development stage is part of the original visualization then it is simply the use of a valid tool. Where the problem arrises is when effects are used to add appeal to an inferior, poorly realized image. But then again, if the final image is compelling isn't that all that matters? If one is able to modify a poor image and make it effective, then the fact that some secondary creative work occurred after the shutter closed does not invalidate the cumulative value of the work.

I don't have any easy answers to this question. At times I feel that a minimum of post-processing is the only ethical way to make an image. At other times, I'll happily modify to the extent that the software allows.