Photoshop is a raster graphics editor used primarily to edit and retouch images. It is a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite and is widely used by digital artists, photographers, graphic designers, and UI designers.
A Photoshop subscription starts at $19.99 a month and includes Lightroom, 1TB of cloud storage, and access to desktop, iPad, and web versions of the program.
Photoshop is the leading software for photo and image manipulation. It allows users to apply filters and effects, adjust brightness, color, and contrast, remove imperfections and unwanted elements, and combine multiple images into a single composition.
Additionally, Photoshop is widely used for creating design assets and digital artwork. Users can draw with brushes, pencils, and shapes, and work with layers and masks for more complex compositions. It also offers basic video editing capabilities.
The most recent cloud version of Photoshop was released in October 2021. The latest desktop version, Photoshop 2022 (version 23.3.1), was released in April 2022. This version includes:
Photoshop operates using a layer-based editing system that allows for the creation and modification of raster images. Layers can function as filters or masks, changing the colors or adding effects like shadows to images.
While Photoshop is marketed as a professional tool, numerous tutorials make it accessible even to beginners. The extensive resources available allow users to learn how to harness Photoshop's vast features efficiently.
Photoshop can benefit businesses in a variety of industries, from manufacturing to food service and vehicle sales.
With Photoshop, businesses can edit images and graphics to suit their specific branding needs. Style presets help create consistent brand assets, and the program supports a wide range of file types, making collaboration easier for design teams.
Photoshop's extensive features allow users to spend time experimenting and learning new skills, which can be applied to future projects. This flexibility makes it a favorite among creative professionals.
Even though Photoshop is the most popular image-editing software, there are other options to consider:
Affinity Photo is a cheaper alternative to Photoshop with many of the same features, though it lacks dedicated tools for marketing materials. It is highly regarded by experienced designers and photographers.
DALL-E, developed by OpenAI, is an AI-based tool that generates images from text descriptions. It can create original artwork and make edits to existing images, making it a powerful alternative to Photoshop for creative projects.
GIMP is the best free alternative to Photoshop, available on Linux, Windows, and macOS. It offers an extensive toolkit for painting, color correction, retouching, and more, making it a solid choice for budget-conscious users.
Photoshop is primarily a desktop application and is compatible with both macOS and Windows. It can also be installed on iPads through the Apple App Store, and there is a web app version that allows access via a browser.
Adobe Photoshop remains one of the most powerful and popular tools for image editing, retouching, and digital art creation. Its rich features, from content-aware fills to layer-based editing, make it ideal for professionals and enthusiasts alike. Despite a learning curve, Photoshop gives businesses the flexibility to produce high-quality, brand-consistent graphics.
If you're looking for alternatives, consider tools like Affinity Photo, GIMP, or DALL-E, which offer different advantages in terms of cost, features, and ease of use.