Is it okay to photoshop a knife your selling?

I think your deceiving your customer when makers use photoshop, ecspecially the grind lines. I've seen it many of times and think it's false advertising. ILK
 
I will use photoshop to adjust contrast, balance, saturation, etc. in an effort to give a better representation of the knife, not to give a false one. My photography needs all the help it can get....
 
I've never sold a knife... but... I would think that as long as you aren't misrepresenting the piece (hiding flaws), adjusting the photo would be fine.
 
I suspect you are reacting to our photo contest and all the talk about digital editing.

Using photoshop to hide flaws in a knife for sale or otherwise intentionally or even unintentionally to misrepresent a knife for sale is fraud. When buying anything from a picture, caveat emptor. I'm with you on having a problem with intentional image manipulation to deceive a buyer. I am sure it happens -- often. The upside is most crooks aren't smart enough or are too lazy to learn photo editing software to do this. Those that do practice this type of deception are soon found out.

On the other hand, digital images do not represent what we actually see accurately. Photoshop helps adjust color, lighting, saturation, contrast, sharpness that the human eye would see but the camera doesn't do as well recording. Correcting or enhancing an image to better represent what we would see with our own eyes is something I don't have any problem with. I prefer it.

Editing an image to the point it leaves reality and becomes art also happens often. I like those also. We are surrounded by edited images constantly. I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
Good points above. Also, truth is that manipulating photos to deceive a buyer is very rare because the buyer will immediately know upon receipt of the knife!!!
As an aside on this topic, the best and most satisfying compliment I've ever had from a maker/customer came from Tom Overeynder. Tom sent me a note with his check saying, "That's the knife I made!"

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