Overview
This conversation, held aboard the True North in Western Australia, explores the history and development of Adobe Photoshop and related products, featuring insights from Thomas Knoll, one of Photoshop's co-creators, along with discussion on Adobe's transition to a subscription model and its impact on photographers.
Origins of Photoshop
- Thomas Knoll shared the early history of Photoshop, developed in collaboration with his brother John Knoll.
- John Knoll's interest in special effects began after seeing Star Wars and led to a career at Industrial Light and Magic.
- Thomas developed an interest in photography and programming, self-teaching both skills throughout high school and university.
- Photoshop emerged from combining Thomas's programming tools for image manipulation into a user-friendly application, initially called "Display."
- John Knoll advocated for productization and marketing, leading to a licensing deal with Adobe in 1989.
- The name "Photoshop" was adopted after other proposed names were already in use.
Adobe and Product Evolution
- Adobe’s product line began with PostScript and Illustrator, forming the foundation for desktop publishing.
- Photoshop filled the need for a dedicated image processing application and was initially licensed to Adobe before being fully acquired.
- Thomas Knoll remained a consultant until officially joining Adobe as a full-time employee in 2012, motivated by benefits and involvement in strategic planning.
Camera Raw, Lightroom, and Workflow
- Thomas pioneered the Camera Raw plug-in, motivated by dissatisfaction with camera manufacturer software.
- Camera Raw’s processing engine underpins both Photoshop and Lightroom, providing unified RAW development capability.
- Lightroom was created to meet the needs of digital photographers managing large numbers of images, emphasizing cataloging and batch adjustments.
- Photoshop remains crucial for advanced editing tasks like compositing and complex retouching, while Lightroom covers most general workflow needs.
Subscription Model and Market Response
- Adobe transitioned from perpetual licenses to a subscription model for its software suite in 2013, sparking mixed reactions.
- Subscription offers continuous updates and removes the need for periodic upgrades, but pricing and value for single-product users (photographers) raised concerns.
- Adobe is considering bundled pricing for Lightroom and Photoshop to address the photography segment's needs.
- The shift enables more frequent feature delivery and prioritizes user experience improvements over just "whiz-bang" marketing features.
Addressing Photographer Concerns
- Many photographers are unsure if Photoshop is still essential with alternatives like Lightroom, Capture One, and Aperture available.
- The lack of clarity between Camera Raw, Bridge, Photoshop, and Lightroom has caused confusion among users.
- Adobe is working to clarify product roles and streamline offerings for photographers.
Decisions
- Transition to subscription model: Photoshop and Creative Suite move to cloud-based subscriptions.
- Consideration of special photography bundle: Adobe is exploring a combined Lightroom and Photoshop subscription at reduced pricing.
Action Items
- TBD – Adobe Management: Finalize and announce special Lightroom/Photoshop bundle pricing for photographers.
- TBD – Engineering Teams: Continue frequent updates and usability improvements for subscription users.