Personally, I roughly categorize "HDR" photos into two groups. Both use exposure bracketing and some form of image superposition, but the difference lies in the rendering intent.


The first group does this in order to bring very large differences in EV in the scene closer together, so as to better represent the ability of the human eye and brain to compensate when seeing such large brightness differences in the real world. The goal is to create the illusion of a natural image, closer to human perception.


The second group uses HDR as a special effect, resulting in images that are not even remotely realistic. The result is very obviously manipulated, often characterized by localized reversals in tone, high saturation, and high contrast. The goal is to create a specific aesthetic "look" that does not necessarily reflect reality.


Bear in mind that although I tend to prefer the images from the first group over those in the second, I don't necessarily dislike the second or think it is any less legitimate.