I know there are alternatives such as Gimp and stuff like that but when you use all the whole cs4 package it is pretty much unbeatable.

And the software will pay for itself in a couple of jobs anyway..

Industry standard 3d-packages are another good example, I have seen some amazingly creative and high quality work done in the free program Blender3D, what ever you learn and dedicate yourself to will most likely work.

Photoshop just has all the tools, lots of tutorials if you need a particular problem solved, thousands of users, and does a spectacular job at what it’s designed for. Well worth the price IMO.

To say that someone is not a designer if they don’t have photoshop is elitist and fanboyish.

That being said, perception is 90%of the law. If I show you a really cool logo I create in lets say it, The GIMP, and told you it was done in “photoshop” you would not know the difference. And neither do the customers.

The deal with software is that most people learn how to use a program which is actually quite complicated at first. Then you show them another piece of software which does the same thing and they have to relearn their productivity rhythms. Instead of giving the new software a chance 90% of people become frustrated and give up, forgetting the learning curve they had to learn the first software and declare one inferior to the other.

That being said I actually have to hide the tools I use every day to make a living whenever I go to an association meet-up because of attitudes like the one in this post….

Every meeting someone talks to me about the new tool in CS4 and how it does blah blah blah and how did I get along without it… I just smile and wave. 99% of what I do in photoshop was there in version 3.

I see your point but its not the same. A god musician can make a $100 base sound great.

I dont really think there is a debate about designers using Photoshop, its the best at what it does by a mile. Designers only use alternatives becasue they cant afford PS or out of protest for having to pay at all.

Well not having to pay at all is not really an option. Unless they make it free to use but $1 every time you save?

They have to get paid dont they?

I bought Photoshop. I like it. It was worth it. I even bought a fully licensed version of it. I’m not even a designer but something I needed and could afford at the time. So in all my responses, I didn’t mean to say Photoshop is bad and not worth it. Just I personally don’t think just because you have it and can draw something in it makes you a good designer, which is the impression I got was being said when I read the post. I could have been wrong, and that is fine.

You mentioned the open source movement, which also provides high quality software without the financial benefits. Imagine all the money Adobe got from people actually buying PS, donated to open source products. I am convinced the result would be by far superior to Photoshop. Did i mention i’m a huge fan of open source products?!

Well don’t get me started on open source products. As i mentioned, I bought Photoshop and i do think it was totally worth it! Also i appreciate student licenses (many companies don’t offer any).

However, I don’t think a good alternative route to not being able to afford it is to use a stolen version either. If no one pays for it, good products like Photoshop wouldn’t be available. GIMP (while maybe not AS good as Photoshop) is open source and has most of the same capabilities.

The web bundle (Photoshop CS2) license even included commercial use. Well i have used it quite often, so it was really worth it.

Strongly disagree on the “cheaper license gets more buyers” point about students. Most of my friends use a stolen copy. Not because Photoshop is too expensive but because they’re not willing to pay any money at all.

But point is taken. Any experienced designer (which I guess is “serious”) would have photoshop, whether self bought or provided by their company.

I’m not a designer at all, I just know a lot of them that are talented as hell but just can’t compete with pros when bidding on projects.