I use photoshop to adjust the brightness and contrast in my pictures too. My scanner sometimes washes the colors out and makes the picture look faded. I didn't like adjusting them that way at first because it felt like I was cheating, LOL! But it's necessary.
You know, I didn't even think of that, but you and Jonny both did. Hm....
What?? I just thought the bee liked flowers 
:)
I totally agree about feeling like cheating.
I don't know how it is in the art world, but with photography some lean way too heavily on software tools instead of learning how to actually take a decent photograph. They don't know the basics of composition- like the rule of thirds- but they can tell you what every tool in PS does.
IMO, 75% of art and photography is how you look at things. The rest can be learned from a teacher or a book.