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Can't afford Photoshop- eh? Maybe try this...

vindibona1

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In another thread one of the forum members lamented that one day he might get Lightroom when he could afford it. That got me thinking... I've been using Photoshop for at least 20 years but have kind have been PO'd when I the latter day versions would choke my older laptops but my tried and true version CS3 would run like a top and "if I could think it I could do it". And I could not activate CS3 on my newer desktop. An so I've been forced into the Adobe software rental scheme, not even really liking the current version of Photoshop.

And with today's earlier thread it sent me to the interwebz to see if there was a decent Photoshop substitute. And I think there might be. I stumbled across "Affinity Photo" and downloaded the trial and messed with it a bit. Ya know, they had to make it enough different from Photoshop to avoid patent infringement, but I think there is something there for those who occasionally need good photo retouching software and don't want to be assimilated by the Borg...errr... Adobe. How much to PURCHASE the software? $50 USD. A lot of the protocols are similar to Photoshop and a lot are a bit different... some better I might say. Definitely worth looking at their trial if you've been thinking about Photoshop but averse to getting your pocket picked every month. Finding the free trial is a bit challenging. I guess they just want you to buy the software. Kind of interesting software. It seems powerful enough to substitute for Photoshop.So here's a link to the trial if you're interested. Affinity Photo Free Trial Link
 
With you on the "I hate Adobes rental schemes". Unfortunately its hard to beat Lightroom.
 
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In another thread one of the forum members lamented that one day he might get Lightroom when he could afford it. That got me thinking... I've been using Photoshop for at least 20 years but have kind have been PO'd when I the latter day versions would choke my older laptops but my tried and true version CS3 would run like a top and "if I could think it I could do it". And I could not activate CS3 on my newer desktop. An so I've been forced into the Adobe software rental scheme, not even really liking the current version of Photoshop.

And with today's earlier thread it sent me to the interwebz to see if there was a decent Photoshop substitute. And I think there might be. I stumbled across "Affinity Photo" and downloaded the trial and messed with it a bit. Ya know, they had to make it enough different from Photoshop to avoid patent infringement, but I think there is something there for those who occasionally need good photo retouching software and don't want to be assimilated by the Borg...errr... Adobe. How much to PURCHASE the software? $50 USD. A lot of the protocols are similar to Photoshop and a lot are a bit different... some better I might say. Definitely worth looking at their trial if you've been thinking about Photoshop but averse to getting your pocket picked every month. Finding the free trial is a bit challenging. I guess they just want you to buy the software. Kind of interesting software. It seems powerful enough to substitute for Photoshop.So here's a link to the trial if you're interested. Affinity Photo Free Trial Link
I use Utorrent. It provdes photo and video editting software at rock bottom prices. like $0. There is a learning curve on how to use it and then the app of cours, but worth every little breath I take. :cool:
 
I stuck with a bought outright version of PS CS6 and it has worked flawlessly all these years on each new computer and not cost a penny more in monthly ransom. Does all I need. I stopped as soon as Adobe went to the Ransom method of fleecing your pockets. GIMP is okay but has a big learning curve as well. You could always look at On1 or Topaz Labs etc., though not free, they are not expensive, and do a lot.
 
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I use Utorrent. It provdes photo and video editting software at rock bottom prices. like $0. There is a learning curve on how to use it and then the app of cours, but worth every little breath I take. :cool:
I thought that if you really don't know what you are doing, you could download a big problem into your computer. At least that is what I was led to believe and I'm not a puter geek so never dared to mess with Utorrent, as good as I have seen it is, in the hands of experts.
 
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You might want to look at GIMP. It's a free open source cross platform program. Performs and has similar features to Photoshop.

Sorry but really clunky. Free "Photos" program on Apple computers works better.
 
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I thought that if you really don't know what you are doing, you could download a big problem into your computer. At least that is what I was led to believe and I'm not a puter geek so never dared to mess with Utorrent, as good as I have seen it is, in the hands of experts.
Yup. It's dangerous. I use several scanning tools before I ever start an install from one of these downloads. Enough said. There are other forums for that subject.
 
In another thread one of the forum members lamented that one day he might get Lightroom when he could afford it. That got me thinking... I've been using Photoshop for at least 20 years but have kind have been PO'd when I the latter day versions would choke my older laptops but my tried and true version CS3 would run like a top and "if I could think it I could do it". And I could not activate CS3 on my newer desktop. An so I've been forced into the Adobe software rental scheme, not even really liking the current version of Photoshop.

And with today's earlier thread it sent me to the interwebz to see if there was a decent Photoshop substitute. And I think there might be. I stumbled across "Affinity Photo" and downloaded the trial and messed with it a bit. Ya know, they had to make it enough different from Photoshop to avoid patent infringement, but I think there is something there for those who occasionally need good photo retouching software and don't want to be assimilated by the Borg...errr... Adobe. How much to PURCHASE the software? $50 USD. A lot of the protocols are similar to Photoshop and a lot are a bit different... some better I might say. Definitely worth looking at their trial if you've been thinking about Photoshop but averse to getting your pocket picked every month. Finding the free trial is a bit challenging. I guess they just want you to buy the software. Kind of interesting software. It seems powerful enough to substitute for Photoshop.So here's a link to the trial if you're interested. Affinity Photo Free Trial Link
Since a few years i use Affinity Photo – Professional Image Editing Software. Only pay once, works perfect.
 
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Affinity looks really good, will be giving it a try.
 
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Luckily, I use Photoshop for my day job and work gets to pay the ransom.
 
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Adobe relies on people relying on big companies to pay. As a small one person business, every penny counts and subscriptions drain away profits. I have subscribed for the Lightroom/ps package for years but would love an alternative. Affinity looks good.
 
I've got an older bought version of Lightroom and it works just fine. Most companies are fast moving to SaS and we'll all be having to pay the piper in the future. Subscriptions are great for the company and investors as it's a steady money flow every month. You won't see any going backwards to the buy / own the software model. Subscriptions do have some positives as updates come with it, yet updates no longer work on my Lightroom version.
 
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There are certain things where perhaps subscriptions make sense, for photo/video editing software, it really doesn't.

I had a version of Lightroom on my Mac that I liked, eventually something's in it stopped working, and eventually as OS upgrades came along, it started to crash.. the options were limited and the cost of replacing it via subscription becomes prohibitive over time. I wish they would just offer an purchase option for a version that perhaps will last a while before having to ponder upgrading it or replacing it.
 
Adobe relies on people relying on big companies to pay. As a small one person business, every penny counts and subscriptions drain away profits. I have subscribed for the Lightroom/ps package for years but would love an alternative. Affinity looks good.
When they introduced, no make that FORCED everyone to go the ransom route, there was talk about Adobe losing customer. I saw some stats from their customer base. about 20% was big corporate companies and 80% was the mom and pop studio and private hobbyists like us.

That seemed like a bad thing until the other data was looked at, which showed about 85% of their revenue came from the 20% of big business and the rest from the small people. They knew that some little customers would be lost but also knew all the big companies would have to stick with them, so they moved to ransom knowing they would all have to pay what ever they asked.
 
Affinity Photo works very well for me. There aren't many functional differences between PS and Photo. The interface is quite different, and that will require some time to get used to.
 
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In another thread one of the forum members lamented that one day he might get Lightroom when he could afford it. That got me thinking... I've been using Photoshop for at least 20 years but have kind have been PO'd when I the latter day versions would choke my older laptops but my tried and true version CS3 would run like a top and "if I could think it I could do it". And I could not activate CS3 on my newer desktop. An so I've been forced into the Adobe software rental scheme, not even really liking the current version of Photoshop.

And with today's earlier thread it sent me to the interwebz to see if there was a decent Photoshop substitute. And I think there might be. I stumbled across "Affinity Photo" and downloaded the trial and messed with it a bit. Ya know, they had to make it enough different from Photoshop to avoid patent infringement, but I think there is something there for those who occasionally need good photo retouching software and don't want to be assimilated by the Borg...errr... Adobe. How much to PURCHASE the software? $50 USD. A lot of the protocols are similar to Photoshop and a lot are a bit different... some better I might say. Definitely worth looking at their trial if you've been thinking about Photoshop but averse to getting your pocket picked every month. Finding the free trial is a bit challenging. I guess they just want you to buy the software. Kind of interesting software. It seems powerful enough to substitute for Photoshop.So here's a link to the trial if you're interested. Affinity Photo Free Trial Link
Lightroom and Photoshop are $9.99 a month. For a student I believe you get the entire suite of tools for that. I use Lightroom and Photoshop, because they are the best tools out there. Lots of ways to learn them (CreativeLive.com --- free classes, just sign up--4 channels of media and content every day, even a few drone classes. If you want to buy a class, wait for a sale)
 
Lightroom and Photoshop are $9.99 a month. For a student I believe you get the entire suite of tools for that. I use Lightroom and Photoshop, because they are the best tools out there. Lots of ways to learn them (CreativeLive.com --- free classes, just sign up--4 channels of media and content every day, even a few drone classes. If you want to buy a class, wait for a sale)
unfortunately not everyone is a Student, and $10 a month is $120 a year, after year after year, pretty soon, your talking real money for a program that originally sold for around $150 or so before the subscription take over..
 
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"Adobe gross profit for the quarter ending May 31, 2021 was $3.391B, a 24.99% increase year-over-year."
With that kind of profit PS & Lightroom will always be costly. I have grown to like Capture One as a Lightroom replacement. I haven't had time to climb the learning curve for Affinity Photo yet.
 
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