Well, at least for a couple weeks. Adobe initially launched the Photoshop Photography Program in September to support the needs and workflow of photographers who use CS3 or later. This small stipulation, however, limited quite a few photographers and several of you weren't too happy about it. But valid from Nov. 20 (9:00 a.m. PST) through Dec. 2, 2013 (11:59 p.m. PST), everyone qualifies, not just those who owned prior Adobe products.
The Program offers access to Photoshop CC and Lightroom 5 (plus respective feature updates and upgrades as they are available), 20GB of cloud storage and Behance ProSite, all via Adobe Creative Cloud all for $9.99/month as an annual subscription.
You can sign up for the program at Adobe.com.
Upon the expiration of this limited offer, the Photoshop Photography Program will continue to be available for $9.99/month to those photography customers who own a previous version of Photoshop Photoshop Extended, or Creative Suite, version CS3 or later (CS3.x, CS4, CS5.x, or CS6). This offer expires Dec. 31, 2013. For more information on the Photoshop Photography Program, visit Adobe's FAQs.
A common question involves what the price will be after the first year. Adobe says "Customers who sign up by December 31, 2013 will be able to continue their membership. This price is not a special introductory price for your first year only; it is the standard price for this level of membership. But if you cancel your membership in the future, you will not be able to re-join at this special price."
With this now in place (and the inclusion of the adorable graphic they sent over) and with the knowledge of issues regarding security in the past, are any of you sitting on the fence swayed to join the program?
Damn, I bought Lightroom 5 in September because I couldnt sign up to this!
yeah, I am feeling the same way right now. Nice move Adobe, nice move... :-(
They can't win, can they?
-_-
Says who? They are winning, in a game of chess. Just using their customers as pawns.
Can you return it?
Here's my Dilema.
I'm on CS6 and LR5. I bought those individually before CC, and honestly, I see no reason to buy into the cloud now. But if buying into the cloud now means I pay 10 bucks a month from now on, won't it be worth it in the long run? Because what might happen is that I DON'T buy into it now, and then in January they crank it to $20 a month, and then that's what I have to pay.
Or does the $10 offer for existing CS6 owners not end in December?
The way I read it, if you are an owner of CS then you will continue to have the option to purchase the Photographers CC package at $10 bucks. Its the people like me what have to get in on it before the deadline as I have never purchased CS.
Only through Dec 31.
But my concern is that there is an escape for Adobe.
They say that the $10 price stays as long as you continue the subscription.
But Adobe can simply introduce the next CC version as another product name, and BOOM! the $10 fee doesnt apply anymore.
It is all a scam by Adobe to squeeze more revenue.
I think the $10 a month is only valid for a year. If you were going to upgrade sometime in the next 6 months you might as well do it now. If you won't in those 6 months, then it's cheaper to wait to upgrade.
Yeah, I don't see a need to upgrade in the next 6 months. I'm using CS6 and LR5 for goodness sake. Hahaha. But I also don't want to be tied in at $20 a month.
if you know what you're doing I think you'll be ok for a few years. upgrades are over-rated in my opinion. yes I don't know the greatest techniques and admittedly I'm not a huge photoshop guru but I use CS3 for what I need to do, lightroom takes on the rest.... now look at that time gap.
If it weren't for Adobe's planned obsolescence we could use CS6 forever with camera raw updates. But they'd rather have a steady stream of cash, and to me that says they won't have to work as hard to keep up biting. All those pros paying $10/month have already bit.
Not me. There's over 40 thousand people who sympathize, too:
http://www.change.org/petitions/adobe-systems-incorporated-eliminate-the...
Personally I think it's just marketing B.S.
A month ago this option wasn't even on the table and before that it was worse.
CS6 and LR5 is a big chunk of change, if you want to subscribe to the cloud please sell me your suite and LR5 for a nice price and have at the cloud. Personally I dislike the idea and think it's unfair, regardless of price.
Once you buy in, if you're serious...they will have sunk their teeth in your neck. I can't imagine changing an entire workflow years down the line if another company hits hard and brings out some game changers. Granted I will be better at editing and probably fine editing photos all over again, but it will still suck to not be able to simply build off of old edits or slightly change them for a client.
Again, not a HUGE deal, but it's enough for me to not like the taste. I don't rent camera on a daily basis and I don't want my computer calling some server to make sure I'm paid up, either.
My issue with CC is that I use after effects, lightroom, premiere and photoshop. But I don't use all the other software offered in the master collection. They should introduce custom packages so we don't have to pay for things we don't need.
I'm in your boat, I bought the production premium suite and then bought Lightroom separate.
they should introduce an entirely different non-subscription sales model so we don't have to sign up for jack-squat. I won't rent software if I can help it.
This petition has over 40k people who think similarly: http://www.change.org/petitions/adobe-systems-incorporated-eliminate-the...
You still can!
http://shop.adobe.com/store/adbehme/en_IE/pd/ProductID.249257300/Currenc...
Hahaha...
well you have a point, I looked into it further and it seems adobe claims to be offering it "indefinitely" and will also continue to update camera raw for all currently offered programs, which would include cs6.
That doesn't however, allow any new features for CS6 users that the CC will offer. So in a few years when you'd expect CS7 (had we not been given this CC...) those wanting the newest features will have the same CC or CS6 dilemma.
Hmm.
I'm still anxious to see how this CC thing plays out. They're fighting hard but I don't think it's set in stone just yet. Pricing is too wobbly for that to seem feasible in my perspective.
I mainly just want an out, if I have a way to maintain the functionality wherever I choose to stop subscribing then I'd go for it. It's cheaper than CS6 and LR for darn sure. Problem is I've done contracts with cellphone companies and I've seen how that can work. This is too much like a contract, and CS6 is old news to Adobe.
(I'd love to get it I just don't want to right now)
Dunno how that logic sounds I'm very tired (5:30am...)
You can purchase a previous version of Creative Suite (CS6) but they are actually NOT selling the latest (or future) versions.
I don't mind the sub... but I would like the option to purchase a full year in one go...
This is still software rental. $10 is reasonable until I want to stop paying and lose editing access to all my work.
I hear what you're saying but that is not true entirely. Plenty of software can open .PSD files
But any custom tools and their effects will be rendered useless or corrupt, most likely. very good point, however. I did not know other programs could utilize .psd files.
So save a TIF of your final and move on with your life.
or, you know, whinge on the internet about not getting everything you want for the exact price you want because MAH RIGHTS
Nothing to do with rights. lol
You have a point, probably would be good to just ignore it and move on, but offering to maintain the ability to keep editing with the same tools would be nice. I like that I can still do that with .psd files I've created in the past.
Thanks for you opinion, though. Keeping it realistic.
What if you have a previous version of Photoshop and/or a previous version of Lightroom? Can't you just re-download or put in the CD it and put in your serial number? Or, since Adobe is offering CS6 "indefinitely," can't you just buy it after you cancel your Creative Cloud account if it's important enough to you?
That did it for me. They hit my price point. Just subscribed.
:(
Aaaand that's exactly what they were fishing for.
Yes. A business who discounted goods or services to appeal to their target market was 'fishing'. For customers. Like every single business ever.
Thanks, Jack.
This is ridiculous. $9.99 equals 12.29 Euro in Germany.
I completely agree with you!
That includes taxes. Still it is a lucrative exchange for Adobe.
what taxes? 12.29 EUR are $16.55 which is 73% more then what people in the US have to pay!! WHY Adobe? I would have accepted 9.99 EUR but I don't like to get fooled by Adobe. Anyhow, seems Adobe need money because their CC doesn't work.
What happens if you decide to stop paying? Can you buy CC outright? And does each upgrade to CC require download of the full software?
You cannot but CC outright, ever. It is simply a subscription from here on out as of now. When CC does update I do believe you will have to download the new software at no cost. When I upgraded from Lightroom 4 to 5 I was pleased to find all my setting moved over without issue and I had both versions operating independently if I so chose to continue LR4.
You can buy CS6 outright, they will continue to sell CS6 as a stand alone, one time purchase forever. However, it will never upgrade. If you want the newest and shiniest offering from Adobe, CC is the only option.
"While Adobe Creative Suite® 6 products will continue to be available for purchase, Adobe has no plans for future releases of Creative Suite or other CS products." http://www.adobe.com/products/cs6.html
Well I went ahead an subscribed. I have been using LR5 with Photoshop Elements 11 quite happily. But I really need the Pen tool sometimes and PSE does not have it. $10 a month is not hard to swallow and I was one of those who said they would jump on the deal if it didn't require owing an older version of CS to qualify, so here is my chance and I am taking it.
Well I do not qualify for this subscription because i'm from Iceland and CC is not an option in my country. Great.
I still don't understand how a company or why a company rather, would limit any digital product to certain territories. Their price hikes in Australia alone are reason to question their business ethics. Taxes? Tariffs? on a digital media?
I just don't get it.
We can't get it in South Africa either Oskar!
Seriously Adobe!!! I was extremely annoyed when I couldn't take up the previous offer as I had a student version PS and Lightroom 5 didn't qualify for the offer. I then went and purchase a full CC subscription and now they change the rules. Make a decision and stick with it becuase you are pissing more people off along the way!
I'm in the same boat - went with a one-year subscription and now I'm unable to take advantage of this, alas.
Dang!, just bought PS CS6. lol
Anyone know what happens after the first year?
Does the price go up?
No, as long as you don't cancel, Adobe has stated this is not a one-year promo deal, but a deal that will roll over indefinitely.
But the sign-up page states, "The price is valid for a full 12 months. After that, we'll renew your contract automatically, at the then-current price of the offering, unless you cancel. The price is subject to change, but we will always notify you beforehand." Based on that language, it could go either way, as "then-current" could either mean the price at the end of the subscription or the price at the beginning of the the next subscription. Also, I've seen comments on other sites from people who have contacted Adobe and have heard from some representatives that it won't change, some that say that the price will return to the single-app price, and some that say that they can't say. This is extremely confusing and irritating! What on Earth is the truth about this?
As a guy who has a direct line to several people at Adobe, here is what the truth is:
After 12 months, the price will be renewed at the $9.99 rate unless Adobe chooses to completely overhaul their pricing model (which I don't see happening for at least a few years, since that would cause even more backlash against them).
If they do choose to raise the rate, they will only do so at that one point in the year where you renew, and they will notify you. Therefore you will be able to choose not to continue. They won't just up the ante on you without notifying. If they do, you should tell me right away and I'll call them out on it publicly.
You're probably getting mixed messaging here because though Adobe reps/support people presently believe the pricing won't change, if the higher-ups do decide they want to raise the rate, they can. There is no explicit language preventing that. But like I said, they would notify you if they were going to do so, and honor the present pricing model until whatever 12 month subscription you are presently engaged in expires again.
Thank you for the reply, Jaron! That's really helpful.
I'm still wondering about two things, though.
First, some people on other sites are commenting transcripts from conversations with Adobe support team representatives who say that, after one year, the price will revert to the regular price for apps on Creative Cloud of $20 per month (meaning a total of $40 per month). I can't seem to find those comments, but I saw several of them. What do you think about those comments?
Second, why has Adobe not decided to honor the current pricing model forever? It seems really dumb that they might change the price. It's just going to make people very angry if they do. If they want to have a high customer satisfaction rating, why would they do that? Besides, it would be a great selling point to just say that it will remain the same forever, wouldn't it? I mean, I know that it would be good for Adobe to have the option to raise the price if they want to at some point, but I think that it would be more beneficial to them to make this a one-time offer that lasts forever. What's your opinion on that?
Gezus this is a cluster. I'm no Adobe rep, I'm just a humble journalist. I only know what Adobe tells me.
You can say that again! Once Adobe's customer service feature is available again on their website (it's experiencing overflow right now), I think I'll ask about it - and I'll try not to accept any answer that isn't definite (we'll see how far I get). Anyway, thanks for taking the time to reply to me!
I have requested that Adobe find a way to address people's questions here. We'll see if that happens.