10 Reasons for Buying Adobe Photoshop Today

Key Points

• Photoshop is easier to learn than you think, with numerous tutorials available online.
• Adobe Photoshop offers more features than its competitors, making it a complete image editor.
• It is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS, making collaboration easier.
• Photoshop has video capabilities, allowing users to create motion graphics.
• Having Photoshop skills can help you get hired, promoted, or find freelance work.

Buying Adobe Photoshop, or at least considering it? Well, Photoshop is the industry standard for editing images and graphics. Developed by the Knoll brothers in 1988 as a way to display grayscale images on monochrome monitors, it was soon purchased and further developed by Adobe. Over the past thirty years, it has become the brand most associated with editing images. It’s so prolific, the program’s brand name is now the colloquial verb for image manipulation. “Photoshop it” has become a common phrase in the digital age. But, should you invest in a program solely based on its popularity? Of course not. So, here are 10 other reasons you should buy Adobe Photoshop.

Reasons for Buying Adobe Photoshop

There are many nuanced discussions about which product to use. One program could be right for some and not for others. This is one of those rare times when a program is nearly universal. If you’re putting off learning or purchasing it, don’t. The benefits of having Adobe Photoshop are too numerous to pass up. 

Raster-Based Image Editing Software

Adobe Photoshop | 12-Month Subscription with Auto-Renewal, PC/Mac

$239.88

• Electronic download of a 12-month subscription with auto-renewal
• Compatible with Windows and Mac
• Create and improve your photographs, illustrations, and 3D art
• Edit your videos and design websites

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09/18/2023 11:22 am GMT

It’s Easier to Learn Than You Think

Professional grade programs like Adobe Photoshop can seem overwhelming to the uninitiated, and as a result, many people will actively avoid them. Photoshop in particular is at something of a disadvantage. It was created over 30 years ago and has been actively used since. While newer versions have seen changes to the interface, for the sake of people who have been using the program forever, those changes cannot be too radical. It’s a catch-22. Changes to the old interface may frustrate long-time users when they discover that their favorite tools don’t work the same. If they don’t update, new users might be scared away due to the complexity. If you’re one of the latter, fret not. Photoshop is more intuitive than you think once you learn the basics. In fact, there are plenty of YouTube tutorials and Photoshop guides that can get you editing images within a matter of hours.  

Project-Based Learning

Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book (2023 release)

$51.99

• Learn how to improve your digital images
• Find out how to edit video, including transitions and motion effects
• Remove backgrounds
• Discover and explore advanced filters

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09/18/2023 11:13 am GMT

You Probably Won’t Need Anything Else

Part of the reason Adobe Photoshop can be intimidating for new users is because it is loaded with features. There are so many tools available, it can seem absolutely overwhelming. But once you have the basics down, this is actually a boon. Photoshop can handle just about everything you throw at it. While there are specialty programs (even made by Adobe) for things like motion graphics and artboard work, Photoshop has the basic functionality of those programs included. While it is a raster-based program, it can still export images as vectors, meaning you may never even need Illustrator.

It Has More Features Than the Competition

There’s a reason Photoshop is learned and used by every graphics professional out there. If there were a program that could do more, people would use it. There are a lot of emerging competitors, but most are specifically designed to fill a niche that Photoshop neglects. The fact of the matter is that if you want a complete image editor that can do it all, Adobe Photoshop is your best option.

Procreate has sprouted up as a trendy alternative but was designed for use with tablets and Apple Pens. While electronic tablets are convenient for portability, they never contain the same features and computing power as a desktop or even a laptop. Canva has also sprouted up as a convenient choice for the untrained, but many of the images end up looking similar to others. The bottom line is that with Photoshop you get more tools than Procreate and more customizability than Canva.

It Can Be Used on Both Windows and Mac OS

This may seem like a nitpicky point but it is critical, especially for collaborators. Having a program that works in any OS is invaluable to people who need to pass the file to someone else to make edits. Programs that work in only one OS can be useful as a stop-gap solution, but anyone looking for a serious image editing program should not invest in such a program. The limitations will eventually become a headache that could have easily been avoided with a cross-platform program like Adobe Photoshop.  

Photoshop Has Video Capabilities

There was a time in the mid-2010s when industry experts speculated that Adobe might do away with Adobe Premiere entirely, that’s how powerful the video tools in Photoshop are. The proliferation of GIF technology meant that images now involve movement. Photoshop responded and gave users the ability to create full-on motion graphics within the already stacked program. This may seem like a niche or specialty feature that you’ll never use, but believe me, motion is the future (and honestly, the present) of web images. Motion, along with light, color, placement, and size, is an element that can draw a viewer’s eye. Even if you’re just using Photoshop to design a company logo, you should consider the benefits of a motion logo and what it can do for your branding.

It Has a Stock Library, Templates, and Tutorials

Being the industry standard has its advantages in that there is plenty of support out there. Most third-party templates and tutorials are made with Photoshop in mind, so very rarely will you find something that isn’t compatible. Adobe even has its own stock library with images that users can import directly to Photoshop. If you need a design to conform to certain sizes, odds are someone has created a template for it. Plus odds are, it’s intended for use in Photoshop. The proliferation of the Adobe Stock library may end up saving you a lot of searching on Google.

You Don’t Have to Purchase New Versions

Adobe ruffled some feathers when they introduced a subscription service known as the “Creative Cloud.” This included many of their most popular programs like Adobe Premiere, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Dreamweaver. Now users could pay a monthly subscription fee for access to one or multiple programs depending upon the plan they choose. While bemoaned by people who wanted to outright purchase and own the programs, there are some unheralded advantages. First of all, Creative Cloud allows people access to the entire Adobe Suite for an affordable price. However, if you only want one program such as Photoshop, the Creative Cloud subscription makes it easy to stay up to date with new versions. Changes and anti-virus updates will be available to users automatically with an active Creative Cloud account.

Full Suite of Adobe Apps

Adobe Creative Cloud

$599.88

• Full suite of Adobe apps
• Perfect for digital painting, 3D, AR
• Access 1000s of fonts
• Save, browse, and share digital assets

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09/19/2023 07:26 am GMT

Buying Adobe Photoshop Can Get You Hired

Adobe Photoshop skills on a resume can attract employers and in an increasingly competitive job market, that’s invaluable. Photoshop is the industry standard when it comes to graphic design. However, image and graphic work is a standard across all industries now. Plus Photoshop is the program everyone knows. Skills in another program won’t get you noticed unless the job specifically requires knowledge of that program. If you’re looking for a job, Photoshop skills can be the edge that gets you an interview. Odds are you are going to learn and become comfortable with whatever program you purchase. If you are looking to do image editing in any kind of professional capacity, you really should be purchasing and learning Adobe Photoshop.

Buying Adobe Photoshop Can Get You Promoted

Knowledge of Photoshop has benefits for those not actively searching for a new job as well. The more skills you have, the more valuable you are to your current boss. Photoshop and graphic design knowledge can help you get put on a project that could lead to a promotion. You never know, a little basic Adobe Photoshop knowledge could help you pivot to a career in marketing or digital media. If nothing else, it can come in handy if your employer ever needs help with any kind of image or graphics work. Just the ability to say, “I can take care of that,” will make your boss sit up and take notice.

Buying Adobe Photoshop Can Get You Freelance Work

Maybe you’re not looking for full-time employment, but rather just a way to pick up a few bucks on the side. Well, if you have Photoshop skills, you can get freelance work. This is where cross-platform compatibility comes in handy. Maybe a client will hire you to take care of one specific aspect. Maybe they’ll ask you for the PSD document of the finished product upon delivery. Either way, Photoshop is the program you want to use. Photoshop having the appearance of complexity can work to your advantage once you learn it. Photoshop jobs are the kind of thing many marketing departments will farm out to save themselves the headache. You can join a site like Fiverr and let your Photoshop subscription pay for itself.

Reasons for Buying Adobe Photoshop

There are a growing number of alternatives to Adobe Photoshop out there, but to reiterate, they tend to be niche. If you are a casual graphic designer, Photoshop can be your one and only stop. The way Photoshop’s workflow seamlessly incorporates Illustrator files or exports to Premiere Pro may be an essential tool going forward as your skills progress. Plus, if you are already serious about graphic design, learning and purchasing Photoshop is an inevitability. You might as well start there. 

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com.