Pixel please! Photoshop keeps getting better... at most things.
December 28, 2017
Pixel please! Photoshop keeps getting better... at most things.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is one of the cornerstones of my image-processing workflow. I am the sole employee of my photography company, and because my name is on the letterhead, so to speak, I care deeply about the quality of the work that leaves my studio. Photoshop provides me with the best possible pixel-level image editing that I can ask for. I have been using it since version 5.0, and have used virtually every edition since then. It is one of a handful of pieces of software that I use nearly every day.
- Retouching. While there are plenty of programs out there designed for adjusting overall exposure, contrast, color, etc., and while some of them (i.e., Capture One, Lightroom) also have retouching tools that are getting better every day, nothing comes close to Photoshop for retouching portraits, doing pixel-level manipulation.
- Preparing images for print. Photoshop's resizing and sharpening features are unparalleled, and when preparing images to be printed on paper (or for the web), it allows the control needed to make sure that the image is represented properly for each medium.
- Layouts and graphics. While Photoshop is primarily known for image editing, it also has robust tools for designing things like Christmas cards and web graphics. Although InDesign is probably a better option for designing print materials, Photoshop certainly leaves the user with plenty of options in a pinch.
- Plugins. Countless (and I mean COUNTLESS) companies have written plugins for Photoshop, which add functionality.
- Learning curve. This is due primarily to the extensive feature set, so I can't complain about it too much, but just like a 747 is more difficult to fly (or to learn how to fly) than a Piper Cub, the sheer number of things you can do with Photoshop means it may be daunting for new users.
- Working with large numbers of images. Wedding, event, and portrait photographers will certainly want a companion program to help organize images and apply adjustments to groups of images. Photoshop just doesn't seem designed to handle this aspect of the workflow efficiently.
- Beyond these, I can identify several minor areas where I'd like to see Photoshop improve (better built-in black and white presets, better image enlargement) but in general, any quibbles I have are the result of Adobe saying, "Hey, let's not dumb this down. Let's provide the best possible base-level tools to our users, and let them create art with it." I would rather have more potential that's harder to use, than an easy to use program that's limited in functionality.
- It's not a matter of what the ROI has been. I couldn't do my job without this program, plain and simple. There simply isn't anything that can meaningfully compete with it.
- For the cost of Adobe's Creative Cloud for Photographers plan, which includes Photoshop and Lightroom, this is a steal.
- Any photographer can tell you, there is an astonishingly high number of people out there who want themselves retouched (thinner! get rid of the wrinkles! please remove the trash can from the background!) -- Photoshop enables me to do this with ease.
- Lightroom and Capture One
Both Lightroom and Capture One also provide a rich, powerful set of features for image editing. However, they are designed for a different purpose -- working with RAW images, and moving through a large number of images quickly. They excel where Photoshop does not, and Photoshop excels where they do not -- the fine, pixel-level work.