Accessing/editing photos after ending Adobe subscription

[Desert Willow]

One of the major negatives for the Adobe subscription model, in my mind, is the need to continue to subscribe forever if one wants the ability to return to and edit old photographs. If I spend the next 10 years or more subscribing to Adobe, and then end my subscription, will I be able to use Photoshop Elements (or something similar) to continue to access and edit my photographs?

I have a Nikon D7500 and am still working on acquiring the rest of my equipment. I'm trying to make a decision about which software to use over the long haul. I like Photoshop and am comfortable using it but haven't updated since it moved to a subscription model. It's time.

I'm at the age where I know I won't always want to spent in excess of $1000 a year for editing software and I'm trying to think ahead. I've used both Photoshop and Elements and think that Elements should be adaquate for when I'm ready to cut back on the cost of photo editing.

Would it be wise for me to save my files in TIFF to keep my options open?

Thoughts?

 

[Sagittarius]

One of the major negatives for the Adobe subscription model, in my mind, is the need to continue to subscribe forever if one wants the ability to return to and edit old photographs. If I spend the next 10 years or more subscribing to Adobe, and then end my subscription, will I be able to use Photoshop Elements (or something similar) to continue to access and edit my photographs?

I have a Nikon D7500 and am still working on acquiring the rest of my equipment. I'm trying to make a decision about which software to use over the long haul. I like Photoshop and am comfortable using it but haven't updated since it moved to a subscription model. It's time.

I'm at the age where I know I won't always want to spent in excess of $1000 a year for editing software and I'm trying to think ahead. I've used both Photoshop and Elements and think that Elements should be adaquate for when I'm ready to cut back on the cost of photo editing.

Would it be wise for me to save my files in TIFF to keep my options open?

Thoughts?

With LR you will be able to access your pictures with all edits applied, but you will not be able to edit. When I moved from one RAW developer to another, I saved my pictures in TIFF, but I still have all my RAW files.

BTW, how did you come up wit $1,000 per year?

 

[Major Jack Reacher]

Affinity Photo is designed to appear, and operate almost identical to Photoshop. You can edit .psd files just like you would in Photoshop.

At the ONE TIME cost of $49.99, you simply can not beat it, imo of course.

I have had Affinity Photo now for over a month, and simply love the software. If you are familiar with Photoshop, the learning curve for Affinity is very very limited, and you will learn this software very fast.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/

 

[Bobthearch]

Hopefully you've archived the original files from the camera (raw, jpeg, whatever). And you've hopefully exported/saved your edited images as new files (jpegs, tiffs, whatever).

If you've done those two things, you are entirely software-agnostic and can move to any other program at any time in the future with no loss.

 

[dj_paige]

One of the major negatives for the Adobe subscription model, in my mind, is the need to continue to subscribe forever if one wants the ability to return to and edit old photographs. If I spend the next 10 years or more subscribing to Adobe, and then end my subscription, will I be able to use Photoshop Elements (or something similar) to continue to access and edit my photographs?

I have a Nikon D7500 and am still working on acquiring the rest of my equipment. I'm trying to make a decision about which software to use over the long haul. I like Photoshop and am comfortable using it but haven't updated since it moved to a subscription model. It's time.

I'm at the age where I know I won't always want to spent in excess of $1000 a year for editing software and I'm trying to think ahead. I've used both Photoshop and Elements and think that Elements should be adaquate for when I'm ready to cut back on the cost of photo editing.

Would it be wise for me to save my files in TIFF to keep my options open?

Thoughts?

When your Lightroom subscription ends, you can still access all of your photos and edits in Lightroom, and export the edited photos after the subscription ends. You an still use the Lightroom Library Module to organize or find your photos after the subscription ends. You just can't add new edits to the photos (and you can't use the map module either).

And of course, your original photos are not stored in Lightroom, you still have those as well.

 

[Sailor Blue]

One of the major negatives for the Adobe subscription model, in my mind, is the need to continue to subscribe forever if one wants the ability to return to and edit old photographs. If I spend the next 10 years or more subscribing to Adobe, and then end my subscription, will I be able to use Photoshop Elements (or something similar) to continue to access and edit my photographs?

I have a Nikon D7500 and am still working on acquiring the rest of my equipment. I'm trying to make a decision about which software to use over the long haul. I like Photoshop and am comfortable using it but haven't updated since it moved to a subscription model. It's time.

I'm at the age where I know I won't always want to spent in excess of $1000 a year for editing software and I'm trying to think ahead. I've used both Photoshop and Elements and think that Elements should be adaquate for when I'm ready to cut back on the cost of photo editing.

Would it be wise for me to save my files in TIFF to keep my options open?

Thoughts?

When your Lightroom subscription ends, you can still access all of your photos and edits in Lightroom, and export the edited photos after the subscription ends. You an still use the Lightroom Library Module to organize or find your photos after the subscription ends. You just can't add new edits to the photos (and you can't use the map module either).

And of course, your original photos are not stored in Lightroom, you still have those as well.

There is one very important caveat.

If you upgrade your computer and/or install a new OS then you lose the LR program that is installed in your current OS, meaning you can no longer export your LR edited images to TIFF/PSD files.

The safest way is to always save your LR edited images as TIFFs or PSDs before leaving the subscription mode.

 

[Desert Willow]

One of the major negatives for the Adobe subscription model, in my mind, is the need to continue to subscribe forever if one wants the ability to return to and edit old photographs. If I spend the next 10 years or more subscribing to Adobe, and then end my subscription, will I be able to use Photoshop Elements (or something similar) to continue to access and edit my photographs?

I have a Nikon D7500 and am still working on acquiring the rest of my equipment. I'm trying to make a decision about which software to use over the long haul. I like Photoshop and am comfortable using it but haven't updated since it moved to a subscription model. It's time.

I'm at the age where I know I won't always want to spent in excess of $1000 a year for editing software and I'm trying to think ahead. I've used both Photoshop and Elements and think that Elements should be adaquate for when I'm ready to cut back on the cost of photo editing.

Would it be wise for me to save my files in TIFF to keep my options open?

Thoughts?

With LR you will be able to access your pictures with all edits applied, but you will not be able to edit. When I moved from one RAW developer to another, I saved my pictures in TIFF, but I still have all my RAW files.

BTW, how did you come up wit $1,000 per year?

I'm an idiot. I was think about one thing and writing another. Sorry.

 

[Desert Willow]

I didn't know any of this. Let me know if I have this right...

1. 1The Lightroom Library Module stays on your computer even after you end your subscription, but you can only use it to access or export, not edit your photos.
2. You can use it to export your files into a TIFF format and it will save all the layers with your edits? Those files can then be edited by Elements or Affinity or the software of your choice.
3. And when it's time to buy a new computer, which sometimes happens unexpectedly, you need to have those files already exported and backed up or you're very, very screwed. Is that correct?

Can you save your Lightroom Library Module to an external hard drive to prevent the loss of your edits, just as you would normally back up your files?

Yes, I always copy and back up my original files as soon as I add them to my computer. My process has always been to:

• Rename my original files
• Make one copy to back up on an external hard drive
• Then make another copy to edit
• Each copy is put in separate folders so I don't mix them up.

That gives me 2 copies on my computer and a backup copy to a different location. I back my work up to an external hard drive pretty regularly. Once I made the mistake of accidentally editing my only original file (badly), and couldn't go back to start over, I didn't make that mistake again! We all do it at least once.

Thanks for the info about Affinity. I'll check it out!

 

[dj_paige]

One of the major negatives for the Adobe subscription model, in my mind, is the need to continue to subscribe forever if one wants the ability to return to and edit old photographs. If I spend the next 10 years or more subscribing to Adobe, and then end my subscription, will I be able to use Photoshop Elements (or something similar) to continue to access and edit my photographs?

I have a Nikon D7500 and am still working on acquiring the rest of my equipment. I'm trying to make a decision about which software to use over the long haul. I like Photoshop and am comfortable using it but haven't updated since it moved to a subscription model. It's time.

I'm at the age where I know I won't always want to spent in excess of $1000 a year for editing software and I'm trying to think ahead. I've used both Photoshop and Elements and think that Elements should be adaquate for when I'm ready to cut back on the cost of photo editing.

Would it be wise for me to save my files in TIFF to keep my options open?

Thoughts?

When your Lightroom subscription ends, you can still access all of your photos and edits in Lightroom, and export the edited photos after the subscription ends. You an still use the Lightroom Library Module to organize or find your photos after the subscription ends. You just can't add new edits to the photos (and you can't use the map module either).

And of course, your original photos are not stored in Lightroom, you still have those as well.

There is one very important caveat.

If you upgrade your computer and/or install a new OS then you lose the LR program that is installed in your current OS, meaning you can no longer export your LR edited images to TIFF/PSD files.

While this may be true (or may not be true, I don't know), please state the source of this information. Seems to me if you install LR and enter your userID that worked for the subscription, then LR ought to work in "subscription expired" mode.

 

[sluggy_warrior]

darktable is free/open-source, very similar to LR, you can install as many copies on as many computers you want. I've been using it the last 4 years for D5100, D5500, and now X-T20. I use RAW only. All your data are belong to you.

https://www.darktable.org/

darktable is my main workflow, I can process about 150 photos in 3-4 hours. For pixel-manipulation, GIMP is the best free/open-source alternative to PS.

https://www.gimp.org/

I don't have an artist in me, but if you want to look at samples, all photos on my public stream were processed from RAW in darktable (and they're full-res for pixing-peeping):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/25213980@N06/

_____

It's not the software that's free; it's you
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html

 

[Jonsi]

2.) You can use it to export your files into a TIFF format and it will save all the layers with your edits? Those files can then be edited by Elements or Affinity or the software of your choice.

No.

Your layers are gone at that point, and other software won't read those as layers or edits. They will see your TIFs as original files. A starting point.

But for your other questions, if you're leaving Adobe, don't you want to be completely free from their software anyway?

Whether I can still use their progs, or access my files through them, wouldn't even be a concern. Getting out of that locked down environment would be the goal.

I use Photoshop but all this, that you're going through, is one of a few reasons I avoid Lightroom and prefer other programs. Performance being the main reason.

 

[Bobthearch]

I didn't know any of this. Let me know if I have this right...

1. 1The Lightroom Library Module stays on your computer even after you end your subscription, but you can only use it to access or export, not edit your photos.
2. You can use it to export your files into a TIFF format and it will save all the layers with your edits? Those files can then be edited by Elements or Affinity or the software of your choice.
3. And when it's time to buy a new computer, which sometimes happens unexpectedly, you need to have those files already exported and backed up or you're very, very screwed. Is that correct?

Can you save your Lightroom Library Module to an external hard drive to prevent the loss of your edits, just as you would normally back up your files?

Ugh, why I hate all of this database / catalog stuff...

Just save your edited versions as new files. Why keep layers, or catalogs, or databases, sidecar files, or edit histories of photos that you've completed?

Want to edit with a different program or re-edit in the future, start with the original.

Of course you should have your files saved on multiple not-connected drives or discs or devices. Whether you save the original camera files, the finished photos, or both is up to you. I emphasize archiving the original camera files; everything else can be recreated from those.

 

[Steve Bingham]

You will still have your raw files, tiffs (with layers), and jpgs. These will be on your computer. What you won't have is CC 2018 so you will need another raw converter and editing program.

--
Steve Bingham
www.dustylens.com
www.ghost-town-photography.com
Latest postings are always at the bottom of each page.

 

[Steve Bingham]

Nice tip Jack. But what does it cost for upgraded versions? I have been using PS for 25 years, and taught it at the college for 3 years. I really dislike the subscription mode.

Affinity Photo is designed to appear, and operate almost identical to Photoshop. You can edit .psd files just like you would in Photoshop.

At the ONE TIME cost of $49.99, you simply can not beat it, imo of course.

I have had Affinity Photo now for over a month, and simply love the software. If you are familiar with Photoshop, the learning curve for Affinity is very very limited, and you will learn this software very fast.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/

 

[Bobthearch]

Nice tip Jack. But what does it cost for upgraded versions? I have been using PS for 25 years, and taught it at the college for 3 years. I really dislike the subscription mode.

Affinity Photo is designed to appear, and operate almost identical to Photoshop. You can edit .psd files just like you would in Photoshop.

At the ONE TIME cost of $49.99, you simply can not beat it, imo of course.

I have had Affinity Photo now for over a month, and simply love the software. If you are familiar with Photoshop, the learning curve for Affinity is very very limited, and you will learn this software very fast.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/

Hi Steve.

I bought Affinity at a promotional price when it was first released for Windows. This week I received yet another free update.

Since there have not been any yet, I could only speculate at what their paid new versions will cost.

 

[Jonsi]

Affinity Photo is designed to appear, and operate almost identical to Photoshop. You can edit .psd files just like you would in Photoshop.

At the ONE TIME cost of $49.99, you simply can not beat it, imo of course.

I have had Affinity Photo now for over a month, and simply love the software. If you are familiar with Photoshop, the learning curve for Affinity is very very limited, and you will learn this software very fast.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/

 

[sluggy_warrior]

Just save your edited versions as new files. Why keep layers, or catalogs, or databases, sidecar files, or edit histories of photos that you've completed?

While the details is moot to your question, it might be helpful to separate and understand the different concepts:

Catalog (or DAM) is mostly for organizing and finding your photos easier. The catalog is usually saved in a database for quick accessing/querying. If you organize your photos in folders with some naming convention, the DAM/catalog is usually not needed. But if you tag your photos frequently, assign rating, and/or if you want to search by camera/lens/focal length/aperture/..., a catalog/DAM is very efficient and powerful.

A sidecar file stores the edit history of an individual image. For non-destructive editors like LR or darktable, the original RAW/JPG is not modified, just a list of operations (exposure, rotating, cropping, ...) is applied on top to export the final image. Later on, you can either start editing again from scratch without the sidecar file, or continue to edit with the sidecar. The sidecar/history is useful when going back and forth with a client for further adjustments to an image.

Layers: in darktable, layers/masks are saved as part of each operation into sidecar. If we're talking about layers in PS/GIMP, that's a different tool/structure, and it's usually a proprietary/application-specific format/container (e.g. PSD, XCF, ...) that bakes the original bitmap together with sidecar/editings into one file.

 

[Bobthearch]

Thanks. I understand all of that but just don't see the point, a huge hassle for little benefit.

Regarding the folder organization, you nailed it. A new folder for each event or day of shooting, organized by date. Any decent transfer software does that automatically, and adding more info to the folder name is a piece of cake. Not only does that leave me free from database catalogs, and not chained to any particular software, it's also operating-system independent. Connect an external drive of images in folders to any computer running any modern operating system and commence work with practically any program.

And the sidecar / editing history files... not much use either. If I'm re-editing an image I prefer to start from scratch with a new vision. And I have nothing but utter disdain for proprietary file types or program-specific sidecar files.

 

[Sagittarius]

.... If you organize your photos in folders with some naming convention, the DAM/catalog is usually not needed. But if you tag your photos frequently, assign rating, and/or if you want to search by camera/lens/focal length/aperture/..., a catalog/DAM is very efficient and powerful.

Recently I needed to find pictures of my father to print for his funeral. I have my pictures organized in folders, so I had to search in a lot of folders. If I had put them in a collection or somehow keyworded, it would of been much easier. Same goes for when you need to find any particular picture.

 

[Bobthearch]

Affinity Photo is designed to appear, and operate almost identical to Photoshop. You can edit .psd files just like you would in Photoshop.

At the ONE TIME cost of $49.99, you simply can not beat it, imo of course.

I have had Affinity Photo now for over a month, and simply love the software. If you are familiar with Photoshop, the learning curve for Affinity is very very limited, and you will learn this software very fast.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/

Another viable and more popular option that is every bit as close to photoshop is Corel's Paintshop Pro. With a lot more included for illustration, and a lot more intuitive interface. It's upgrades run from $25-35, depending on the day. They will let you know in the program or via email.

The price is very compelling and it's a good program for editing.

And unlike Affinity, it has a DAM.

And if you don't need or want the DAM features, they can be completely ignored.

Despite having it, I don't really use it, but I know it's good.

Just another option.

Where it falls flat is working with RAW files. it can work directly with RAW files of course, but the embedded developer has few options. You can buy PSP bundled with AfterShot, a dedicated raw developer, it's not great either.