When do you become a graphic artist? The moment you pick up the camera...
Everything you do in composing the image, whether it's in camera or in post production, affects the image. What lens you use, what camera, how you have the saturation and colors set. How you frame and crop the image matters. Everything you do has an effect on the final image.
Take this image for example. A beautiful waterfall in a pristine forest, right? I probably had to hike for miles to get there, correct? Well, not really, you could take this shot out of your car window if you want to, I'm standing on a bridge. But that's not visible in the shot, so does that mean I'm not reflecting reality?
The water looks different depending on the shutter speed, the light looks different based on the exposure, etc, etc, etc. Photos are always influenced choices made by the photographer.