Being creative is so useful . Looking at the image and enhancing the experience you saw through software is ok to do . I use Lightroom , Photoshop , Nik Collection . Having a basic knowledge of the PC or Mac will enable you to create surreal or realistic images . The software  opens up a whole new world for the photographer , using it for enhancement is not cheating the information is in the meta data of the file  , a bad photo will always be a bad photo . I like to  use HDR to bring out the shadows and high lights in an image .