I think it's fair to say that photos are derivative art. We take the beauty created by another, artists, sculptors, architects, allah, and present it.

Is derivative art actually art? I guess it's all about interpretation manifested in the tools at hand. Pastels or photos. Clay or photoshop.

Maybe the only time it's not really art is when it's attempt is to misrepresent actual sentiment or view through cynically manufactured sentiment, feeling, emotion.