So, some time ago Adobe have announced that they’ll no longer be making their software available in disc form. From now on, if you want to use any of their programs, you’ll need to pay a monthly or yearly subscription to access the software online using Adobe Creative Cloud.

Looking at this as a single entity, the premise is good. Prices are remarkably reasonable, considering the high level of technology that’s on offer and there are various discounts available if you’re a long term user upgrading to this Creative Cloud scenario.

The Bigger Picture

But (and there’s always a but!), it’s when we start to look at the bigger picture that issues start to arise. Most photographers I know are not particularly ecstatic about the changeover (myself included). Creative Cloud works out very cheaply if you’re the sort of person who used to buy every upgrade Adobe brought out.

But if, like me and many others, you tended to skip some upgrades, this new system is going to end up leaving you out of pocket.

Keeping Up With The Latest

Connectivity and keeping up with the latest technology are the two main factors here. And this isn’t a new thing. As a photographer who comes from a film background, I’ve always found the constantly moving parameters of digital photography a little challenging to keep up with. I’m by no means a dinosaur (I’m only mid-thirties!) but I do sometimes yearn for the simpler days of film.

Back then I used a Hasselblad (the best of all medium format cameras), took my photos and presented the client with a contact sheet to choose from. As time progressed and scanners became better, I’d sometimes scan the shots into the computer if they wanted to use them on a website. It was that simple.

Of course, I’m looking at this with rose tinted glasses – film photography could be notoriously tricky and relied upon finding a simpatico lab who knew how you liked your shots processed (mine were so good that several of the staff are coming to my wedding later this year!). And it was far more complex to cover up any subject’s blemishes! Scanning took ages and always required a dust removal and clean up afterwards. And, if anything went wrong in camera, you couldn’t just press a button in Photoshop to correct it!

Catch 22

Times change and now, as I always joke to my friends, everyone wants to look ten years younger and twenty pounds slimmer. Photoshop and the likes have made it easy to do this and digital capture makes putting your images on the computer a breeze. I must admit that nowadays I’m much more comfortable with Photoshop and have learned to use it as a digital darkroom. It’s an amazing program.

Unfortunately, many clients don’t understand how much extra time post production adds onto a shoot, and the complexity of producing stunning images that don’t look overtly retouched. So getting them to pay vast amounts for the process can be a challenge. This leads to an almost Catch 22 situation – we want to give our clients the best we can, but finding the money to keep up with the constant upgrades can be difficult.

Obsolete Overnight…

It’s not just Adobe that are guilty, of course. If I take myself as an example, I can easily illustrate just how much money keeping on top of things cost and how much I need to spend to ensure that I have connectivity with all my equipment.

I use Canon digital cameras, Apple computers, Adobe Photoshop as my editing program and Microsoft Office for my writing. Each one of these manufacturers brings out new equipment or software at least once a year. And, when they do this, half the things I own could essentially become obsolete overnight.

Take my iMac, for example. I have a 24” iMac that I bought several years ago. One of the main reasons I replaced my previous aging Mac was that it didn’t have an Intel chip inside it, meaning that it couldn’t run a later version of Adobe Photoshop than CS3.

Then, a year or so later, I upgraded my camera to a newer version of the Canon 5D range. Of course, this meant that I needed to upgrade Photoshop to CS6, in order to have full access to the RAW conversion tools. And, in doing this, I had to upgrade my Mac’s operating system so that it could handle the new software. But I couldn’t upgrade to the newest operating system, as that would’ve meant that I’d need to upgrade my Microsoft Office package and, quite frankly, by this point I was a little strapped for cash!

Drawing The Line

Connectivity is a massive issue in the digital photography game. As the above somewhat convoluted paragraph shows, the minute you upgrade one aspect, you’ll find that a whole host of others will follow on its heels.

Somehow, I don’t think I’m displaying too much cynicism when I suggest that a lot of this is probably carefully planned out by the various manufacturers! Digital photography is a marketing man’s dream – because of the constant improvement in technology, not to mention the everlasting battle to fit as many pixels as possible into an image, there’s always a new camera that we’re being told is far better than the last.

You have to draw the line somewhere. When I teach photography, I tell my students that buying a new DSLR is a bit like buying a new car. You know it’s going to drop in value the minute it leaves the showroom. And what’s brand new today will be obsolete tomorrow when something else comes along. But today, it’s the best fit for you. And that’s really where you should start from. Every camera I’ve ever owned has been the best fit for me and the best that I could afford at the time. Some that I use even now would be considered horribly out of date, but I can make them produce wonderful pictures without all the latest gizmos.

Conclusion

Whatever level of photography you’re at, you can’t keep up with all the technology, unless you have very deep pockets. It’s very easy to think that keeping up with the latest technology is essential and that, if you’re not fully ‘connected‘, you can’t possibly be the best photographer there is. But the truth is that being a good photographer has very little to do with equipment and software and a lot to do with artistic ability, a good eye and a desire to learn.

Yes, it’s frustrating. And yes, eventually we all have to upgrade. The trick though must be not to get caught up with the hype. Give it a few years, and even all the furore over Adobe’s latest announcements with be forgotten.