I’d like to make this as much as subjective as possible, since this could go on until the end of days.
Right, in respect to the pride of the profession and to differentiate true talents of the métier, one can argue to stick to the line: “Shoot and post”, is the motto out of fear of damaging the realism and trust of the artist. To name an example, Journalism: the purpose of journalism is to portrait a true story without any ruling. Editing an image can easily lead to a directional opinion change of the audience. Imagine what this can lead to when voting a president?
On the other side manipulation can make an image more original. Look at Kelly Robitaille’s work, bro! Isn’t that art too?? Well it’s pretty advanced and not commonly practiced, I agree. Let’s stick to the more regular adaptations to the pictures, adjusting light conditions, retouching, color enhancement, even replacements, etc. The business does not allow to wait for perfect conditions if we are forced into the field of the unknown or even one who does not have a studio with the entire range of buyable equipment. At the end of the day, the software is there to be used, using the given tools. Just look at the images used of millions of companies, I am sure you would not be inspired to buy their burgers if that image would come straight out of the camera.
Personally, I find that creativity should not be stopped or negatively misjudged in any of the both ways. Do whatever you need to do to be yourself and to stand out from the crowd!