Postprocessing (random thoughts)

Postprocessing is what you do after you acquire an image, whether it is film or digital.  In the case of film, the method of emulsion, how you mask and timed the light projection, etc, are techniques that will be later transferred over to "photoshop" techniques.  Never thought of that did you?  Unsharp mask is not a product of digital, but was a technique used during the processing of film.  You can google for more in-depth details on that process.  Let's move on.  With the proliferation of digital and photoshop and other graphic editor software, people tends to get carried away with all the "cool" effects until it becomes so ubiquitous, it becomes cheesy.  Black and white?  Sepia?  Selected color with B&W background?  Oversaturation? Oversharpened?  My thoughts on it?  Think, before you apply any kind of post-processing.  Just don't do it because you think it's cool, but really think.  Does it REALLY make it better?  Can it endure the test of time and still remain classy and unique?  That's a tough one.