I think that the most important is the concept and message you wanna convey through your photo, if a person looks at it and can understand what you are trying to show.. you succeed.
Like what many have mentioned, post production has been around since film age, which is your darkroom. Many of your tools in your photoshop are really modeled after darkroom techniques e.g burning
The only difference is that digital technology brings the fun of what was once expensive closer to many amateurs like myself to pick up the fun which i think many have forgotten..
Remember you pick up this interest because u enjoyed it...so enjoy
I definitely agree with this. You nailed it right.
just don't like it so much when photos are edited to the point of looking unreal and unrepresentative...
I agree with this also. 100%.
Essentially, a balance is needed for most of the shots that we take. Even the best landscape photographers keep it simple. That being said, you can't apply the same rules to different context (e.g. fashion photography, photojournalism, sports photography) as they would all have a different approach as to how the picture is conveyed.
Coming back to the topic by TS, my reply is : yes, for my keepers.