At the convention there was quite a bit of talk about the messy scene for taking photos.  Some of us agreed that if they would cut off the spent flower but leave the ovary in place, we would be able to take much better pictures but none of the bud count info would be lost.  I would much prefer this to leaving the messy dead flowers all over the place.  It made getting decent shots of the irises a major challenge and in some cases not possible.

Judy, In your own garden and if you are not working to hybridize, of course you may deadhead as you wish.  In mine, when I am not having a tour, I only bother to do so when I am trying to take a picture or when I get inspired to make a clump look better for some reason.  But my yard is not a street setting so no one sees it unless invited.  If you are talking about a yard area visible from the street deadheading makes everything look a lot better. 

Jan in Chatsworth