Currently I use Adobe Lightroom to do my photo processing. It took me a while to get used to the software and how it archives photos, but the development module was the same as what Photoshop had to offer in Camera Raw and I was already familiar with that. My processing through Photoshop had pretty much stopped, unless I had a problematic photo that needed serious work, so upgrading from CS5 to CS6 was not a concern for me…that is until now.

Adobe has recently made some changes to how Photoshop will be used now and in the future. Any new purchases of Photoshop or upgrades to the new version of Photoshop will require a month to month fee for as low as $20 to use the software, which will be done in a “cloud environment.” Basically it’s not giving you the software to keep on your computer, but making you do your processing on their servers through Photoshop CC (CC standing for Creative Cloud.) A lot of professional photographers, as well as amateurs, are not happy with this concept. I, for one, won’t be upgrading Photoshop any longer until it returns to being a “pay once and run on your own computer” type of software. I understand there are some nice new features in the latest Photoshop, but taking away control to how a photographer handles his/her work is not the smartest thing Adobe has done. The good thing is that Lightroom will continue to be a stand alone software application with no monthly fees.

It will be interesting to see how Adobe handles Photoshop in the future. Will slowing sales or upset longtime supporters be enough to make them go back to a stand alone software application? Stay tuned to find out…

On a side note, click here and check out the new Youtube marketing stint that Samsung put out promoting mirrorless cameras. It’s pretty creative.