When Adobe announced the move to the new Creative Cloud platform, you could instantly hear the stampede of photographers grabbing their pitchforks and running out the door. I must admit, I was one of those photographers, at first. And then I thought about it. What are people really getting upset about? Here are five reasons why Creative Cloud is good news for photographers.
1) You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get the tools you need
A small monthly fee is a lot easier on your pocket than spending hundreds or thousands of dollars.
2) You won’t have to purchase new software when it becomes available
Your monthly fee will stay the same, even when the software is updated. This saves you from shelling out those hundreds of dollars every couple of years.
3) You will always have the latest and greatest version of Photoshop
Never be behind the curve again. As soon as a new version with new tools and features is released, your software will be automatically upgraded to include them.
4) You get 20GB of cloud storage with your subscription
While other services like Flickr offer more storage, you can allow other people (such as clients) to access your Adobe cloud files.
5) No waiting for software in the mail, or driving to the store to buy a CD
Now you have instantaneous access.
After the dust settled, and I could finally see clearly, I began to accept, and like, the idea of the Creative Cloud. Here’s how I see it: I’m a photographer. I make money taking photos, and more often than not I need Photoshop and Lightroom as part of my workflow before I’m happy with the photos I’m sending off to a client. A small monthly subscription fee is just another cost of doing business.
Let’s say you pay $20 a month for Photoshop CC. It would take you almost three years before you reach the cost of buying CS6, and by that time the latest version would probably make CS6 outdated, and you would have to shell out another $650 for CS7. Sure, it might seem like you’re technically “renting” CC instead of owning your software, but that’s just semantics. The benefits far outweigh the downsides.
Creative Cloud makes sense. It makes sense for Adobe, and it makes sense for us. I don’t see how you can afford not to subscribe.
2 Comments
1) You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get the tools you need
You Pay THE SAME and have nothing to show in the end. ("you’re technically “renting” CC instead of owning your software")
2) You won’t have to purchase new software when it becomes available +
3) You will always have the latest and greatest version of Photoshop
If you OWN the software you DON'T HAVE TO UPGRADE. Even if you don't need the almost useless new features you still have to pay more for tools you don't even use.
4) You get 20GB of cloud storage with your subscription
You can get the same (or more) using other services for FREE.
5) No waiting for software in the mail, or driving to the store to buy a CD
Digital Downloading the software I OWN is better.
And how much were you paid to Shill their Photo$lop??
Pure garbage driven by unmitigated greed at Adobe, you are their tool.
On item #2, tell me what a great bargain it is when you are paying $250 per month for CC (Cash Cow/cloud).