Item: Adobe PhotoShop
Rating: 8
Author: Stephanie Nelson

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use photoshop for marketing projects and photo retouching. For my small firm, I am the only one that uses it. I have used it extensively when updating our website for more precision editing than I could do in Wordpress. I also use Photoshop to create multi-layer photo projects for advertising campaigns.

Pros and Cons

composite images: Photoshop is the best tool out there for creating multi-layer images using layer masks
Layout and design: InDesign (another Adobe product) is also great at this, especially for multi-page booklets or other documents, but Photoshop offers a lot of the same functionality without needing to learn another software. It's great to be able to do photo editing, layer masking, and then design all in one platform.
Photo editing: Adobe has the absolute best tools for color correction, portrait retouching, etc. No question in my mind that they outpace the competition in this respect by a large margin.

Price: They are definitely not the cheapest out there, and for the last several years they have moved to a subscription model so you are paying monthly instead of buying once and using the product for years until you want to upgrade. Packages range depending on what you need. But still, if you only use it occasionally or non-for-profit, then it can be pricey. There are lots of lower-cost or even free competitors out there. However, I do think you get what you pay for.

Most Important Features

Layers
Transparency
Masks
Color correction
Composite images
Export options

Return on Investment

I would have to pay a lot more for design services if I didn't have Photoshop.
I can produce professional quality images that are attractive for clients.
Our website and other marketing materials look sharp.

Alternatives Considered

GIMP

I found GIMP much harder to navigate and the features not fully fleshed out. In the end, while a free product is great, I felt like I was wasting my own time instead of just paying for Photoshop where I could get the project completed much more quickly and easily.

Key Insights

Do you think Adobe PhotoShop delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Adobe PhotoShop's feature set?

Yes

Did Adobe PhotoShop live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Adobe PhotoShop go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Adobe PhotoShop again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Canva, Adobe Illustrator CC, Adobe InDesign, GIMP

Likelihood to Recommend

Adobe Photoshop is still the industry standard in many ways. They offer top-of-the-line photo editing. There are many cheaper competitors, but most have limited functionality of some sort. Those limitations may not be important for some jobs, but if you really want a powerhouse, Photoshop is the best option. I use it for composite images and cleaning up image quality or lighting, retouching headshots, and creating design layouts. Lightroom is great for image quality, and InDesign is great for layout. But honestly, with just a little more know-how and potentially a little more work, you can do it all in Photoshop. Well, unless you want to create vector images, then you need Illustrator! The whole Adobe Creative Suite is great if you don't mind the price!

Best in Class!

Overall Satisfaction with Adobe PhotoShop