To Pop or Not to Pop, That IS the Question

I don’t know if I mentioned this, but I have a serious relationship going with Photoshop. I love it and use it on every picture I take. My edits tend to be fairly natural. I figure I want to look back and see what my kids really looked like. I’m always trying to find a happy balance with that and my love of Photoshop. Now don’t get me wrong, I sharpen, I bump contrasts, I lighten and brighten, and boost colors. If I’m going more for a portrait, which is rare, I’ll even clone a bug bite or scratch and sometimes even out the skin. But, most of the time, my pictures are snapshots of our daily life, and that comes with scabby knees and snotty noses. It’s who we are, and I for one am okay with that. I look at a lot of fabulous photographer’s blogs and can’t help but love their different styles, some with color pops and some with funky edits, and I find I try these things from time to time. Can you tell?But the truth is, the first pictures are more true to life. Does this mean that I don’t like the color pop? Hell no. I love it. Was my son’s t-shirt such a vibrant green and was the light shining on him this golden? Well, no. Did my baby look cute either way? Absolutely.I don’t know which one is better, and really, I like both. I think I’ll just continue on with my eclectic ways and decide that mixing it up is in fact, MY style. I like the color pop on the first picture, and the more natural edit on the second picture. Maybe each image is different and should be treated as so. Maybe I should shut up, quit worrying about it so much and go to bed. Any opinions on this matter? The color popping, not the shutting up.