Adobe had a last date for people to sign for the Creative Cloud at special prices, and that was the end of August. I do not know what they did do in the mean time, but today they announced a new option for using the Creative Cloud, the Photoshop Photography Program, which offer both programs for $9.99 per month.
The surprising revelation was made during a keynote at Photoshop World conference, in Las Vegas, and heralds a new era in terms of the Creative Cloud. Adobe says that “since introducing Photoshop CC, we’ve listened to feedback from a spectrum of our customers, from advanced professionals to casual enthusiasts. One common request was a solution specifically tailored for photographers. We listened, and at Photoshop World we’re announcing a special offer for our loyal Photoshop customers. Beginning today, customers who own Photoshop CS3 or higher are eligible for a special Creative Cloud membership offer that includes all of the following for just $9.99/month:
- Photoshop CC
- Lightroom 5
- 20 GB of online storage
- Behance ProSite
- Access to Creative Cloud Learn’s training resources
- Ongoing upgrades and updates”
Now this is an interesting offer, and it is similar to what Microsoft does with their Office suite (as I suggested Adobe should do), but there's a catch, in case you did not read with attention the paragraph above: you need to have Photoshop CS3 or higher to be able to join.
While I understand Adobe, the first reaction from some quadrants suggests there will still be a lot of people trying to use pirated copies of both programs, because they do not have a Photoshop CS3 copy to show. Still, this is a step forward, and as Adobe says “$9.99 is not an introductory price. It is the price for those of you who sign up by December 31, 2013. This offer will be available at the same time we introduce the new version of Lightroom 5.2 in a couple of weeks.
The keynote ends with the mention that “all of us on the Photoshop team look forward to continuing to build on our 20+ year relationship with our loyal community.” It's Adobe trying to reconnect with so many of those that have looked elsewhere in the last weeks. Let's see if the chain is not broken for good…
The truth is that this may be the path for many photographers to keep up to date with the advancement of technology. During the Photoshop World conference in Las Vegas, Adobe is showcasing how photography workflows will evolve to take advantage of an increasingly connected world. They also highlight some of the exciting (for some!) new technologies that they’re working on for Photoshop CC and Lightroom, and their roadmap for making their photography products even more connected.
The Photoshop Photography Program is not currently live, but should launch in a few weeks. It is without a doubt, a more sensible offer for photographers.
One last note, though. Those people that subscribed until the end of August, in despair of losing the update path to their copy of Photoshop CC, may not be very happy now.