I think what bothers me most is when a photo leads me to believe something that isn’t true. If, as @mnavurskis mentioned, a photo is labeled as the Black Hills, but if I were to go there and never be able to see that scene, then it is essentially “bearing false witness.” No one should do that. It’s false advertising. People aren’t supposed to lie.
But if I painted a picture of the Black Hills and embellished it with trees, and animals, and rock formations, and other-worldly sunsets that could never exist, would that be lying? My perspective is that, no, I don’t think it would be . . . UNLESS it was in the context of documentation. If in any way I am implying that what I have painted is what that place is actually like, then I would argue that it is “bearing false witness” about that location. So, it’s not that you can’t embellish as much as you want. It’s just that you shouldn’t be leading others to believe something that didn’t actually happen. That’s crossing a moral boundary.
I think this would apply to “swapping-out-sky” scenarios too. You can swap out sunset skies a much as you want to, in the name of art. You can create fantastic places with Photoshop and AI as much as you want. No problem. Folks have been doing it in the world of art for hundreds of years. But if it is displayed in the context of reality (documenting what happened…what I saw on my vacation to the Black Hills, what you can expect to see at a certain, physical location etc.) then I would say it is crossing a moral boundary.
And what do you do about folks who are crossing a moral boundary? First, set the example! Don’t imply anything yourself that would lead others to believe something that didn’t actually happen. If you swap out a sky, don’t hide that fact, or don’t lead others to believe what an amazing photo you took.
Secondly, ask yourself, what do we do about anyone who we find out is lying? If they are outside of our jurisdiction of authority, it can be irritating because we can’t do anything about it. The natural response is to get mad and worked up about about it. But since that doesn’t do anyone any good (and only bad to us, really), then we have to surrender our right to not have our justice system violated. When someone out there is lying and getting away with it, we just have to leave it up to God to take care of it. And thankfully, He will one day. Every shade of deceit, every wrong motive, every big or little lie, He will rectify. But until then, we just have to trust Him to take care of it in His way!
I enjoyed hearing your perspective, too, @loganlamar. Those were some great thoughts.