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Posted by I'd say do whatever you are comfortable with. If you do photography as a hobby, then you are not out to please/satisfy anyone but yourself. At least initially. If you aren't comfortable with a certain level of editing, then don't do it. When you look at your own work, you should be happy with it and comfortable with how you got it to where it is. If you are happy with your results, then someone else coming up to you, looking at your work, and saying "It's undercooked" or "It's overcooked" should be regarded as someone else's opinion and not change how you feel about your work. Even if it is someone whose opinion that you value. It is all a matter of taste. Just like with food. Some people like certain kinds of food and are picky, other people like all kinds of food and appreciate the variety.
Me personally, I do it all. I'll barely edit some things, and other things will get outright butchered because I go so far overboard. Since I am not doing this for a living and I don't have to answer to an employer or customers about how my photography looks, I have the luxury of being completely free with how I do my photography. If I produce something that pleases me, I'll share it. Some people may like it, and some people probably won't. And that is great with me. I started photography with film, at one point, I was processing my own film and prints in a wetlab darkroom. But if you think that people weren't editing their work in a darkroom, sometimes heavily, then you'd be mistaken. Especially with color photography. I mainly did B&W on film, so most of my experience is there, and we did learn a lot of editing techniques in the wetlab darkroom. I enjoyed color as well, but it was more involved (and expensive) compared to processing B&W. With the advent of digital photography in the commercial and consumer markets, film has all but fallen in popularity. Digital is much more convenient on many levels, and it is arguably cheaper to maintain. (We could go into a really involved discussion on the two formats, which has probably been done to death over the years on many venues). But with all of the different software platforms and applications available now, The ease and possibilities of processing and editing digital photographs is amazing.
It's funny about the mindsets that we hold ourselves to with things like this. In editing, I really don't hold myself to any rules, and I don't really adhere to anyone else's rules or comply with what other people think that I should be doing it in regards to my photography. It is my photography, and I will do it as I please. When I desire constructive criticism, I ask for it. (Which is different than adhering to any sort of "rules". I do try to be ever the student). On my things, I don't do a huge amount of editing that takes the photo into a surreal appearance. But sometimes, I do. I depends on what I am looking for or looking to produce. I love the technology. But at the same time, I don't use a ton of the automated features on my camera. I set my aperture, shutter speed, and ISO manually in almost every single shot. I rarely use the program modes. I use the autofocus most of the time (unless I am doing a focus stack or stitched panoramic or HDR sort of thing). I use auto-white balance too, at least, most of the time, and at the camera level. I will say that with the autofocus, there is the possibility of a lot going on there, depending on what I am shooting and in what mode. (Action shots, etc). But I do shoot most of my stuff in "Manual" mode, setting the aperture, ISO, and shutter speed myself. Now, does that mean that I think that others that do use the program features of their cameras are "cheating" and not doing the photography themselves? Of course not! I could care less how other people produce their work. All I want to see is their product. I don't care how they got there (unless there is a particular technique/result that came up with that I would like to learn, and then I ask). I love looking at peoples' photography. I love seeing how other people capture moments in time and where they go with it and how they compose certain images and maybe take me somewhere or make me think. I don't care how they got from A to B. I just enjoy being there at the end and enjoying their work. I apply that same mentality when I am holding and using my own camera. Once I embraced that freedom, it was like walking into a whole new world for me, and I enjoyed my photography so much more. And in turn, I enjoyed other peoples' work even more.
If you do have a desire to please other people with your work, just remember to make sure that you are happy with your work first. Then share it.
* Remember also to filter input/critique/criticism/reviews from the internet. It's the internet, and trolls dwell there. Trolls that enjoy nothing more than simply upsetting people and causing conflict where none exists. This little community is one of the best photography communities that I have found. The folks here will be honest with you on critiques and constructive criticism if you ask them to. I like that. I like that a lot. I expect brutal honesty if I ask for constructive criticism. It's how we grow and how we learn. But on the net, we have to filter the true critique of our peers from the maliciousness of the trolls.
