Comments on: around the net: volume 16, a little studio diy, lightroom 2.0 and the king

By: Juan Bonilla

Juan Bonilla — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:54:35 +0000

I feel exactly the same way as Craig. For example, my fulltime job is as a Package Design and Development engineer and I do some photography on the side as a hobby. Recently though, I did a shoot in which I was paid to take pictures of a family in Ault Park. It felt great to make some extra cash on the side with something I consider a very cool and fun hobby. However, I also had co-workers that left the company to make their photography hobby a profession and they are doing quite well. One of them is Rick Lohre. He is a talented commercial photographer that is currently very busy doing gigs in his studio. So, I see how you can make it a profession if you really want it and are passionate about it.

By: Maurice

Maurice — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:19:18 +0000

well gimp is usable for a few tasks but if it say takes 5 times as long to do somthing the hiden costs realy rack up should I spend a morning fighting with gimp when I could do it in half an hour in PS thats say 150/200 quid in terms of my charge out rate. do that twice a month and you quickly recover the cost.

By: Jim Talkington

Jim Talkington — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 22:03:31 +0000

I honestly don’t know where I stand on the pricing of Photoshop. But, as John says, there are completely (truly) free alternatives, like GIMP. The thing I find interesting is that with each new release of just about ANY software, there are features we feel we need…that 6 months earlier we got along just fine without. The world keeps moving faster and faster.

You nailed it, Craig: photography has become a very enjoyable and accessible second career for many people, a good way to earn extra income. There are increasing challenges to making it a full-time career, though. But, just like anything that requires dedication, those challenges can be overcome if someone truly wants it.

By: Craig Lee

Craig Lee — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:29:51 +0000

I just read the two business articles that you linked to up above. Very interesting informations and viewpoints. They do highlight how things have changed and are changing. In some ways it seems easier to make some extra money as a hobbiest than ever before, while conversely it is getting more difficult to make photography a career.

By: Bill Rhodes

Bill Rhodes — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 02:38:25 +0000

Photoshop is horrifically overpriced. They only care about their corporate clients.
But, what choice do we have?
Almost everything else is not photoshop.

By: Jim Donahue

Jim Donahue — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 02:28:25 +0000

Is a Pic worth a $1000, Well I guess the guy that Caught B Spears getting out of the Car got more than that but I’d rather be shooting the Grand Canyon for Nothing.

By: John Brainard

John Brainard — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:53:29 +0000

Thanks Jim for another blog to add to my Google Reader… I like that table and it appears to be Keith has some other interesting stuff on his blog. I’ll keep checking back.

I’d love to see the price of Adobe software come down, especially Photoshop. Thankfully, there are alternatives out there that are cheap or free, like The Gimp. Granted, it doesn’t have all the same bells & whistles as Photoshop, but it works for me and numerous others.

By: Mike C

Mike C — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:39:01 +0000

Well, that should keep me occupied to the end of the work day. If I get fired, I’ll blame it on Jim

Re: Adobe pricing, do I think they charge a lot, yes. But they have every right to do so. Do I want them to make it more affordable for the average Joe, no. The price of Photoshop is well justified when you take in consideration the ROI.

By: Craig Lee

Craig Lee — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:21:29 +0000

I saw Brian Auer’s Photoshop price poll and analysis too and thought the results were interesting. I don’t have Photoshop yet myself simply because it is so expensive, and I’ve found that Photoshop Elements doesn’t have many of the tools that I would want to use. Anyway, they do have a right to sell the product of their work and I know software of that type takes huge amounts of resources. Not sure what the best “solution” is though.

That shooting table does look interesting, and like it would be very sturdy. However, it is also very expensive for a DIY project. How much is an actual “photographic” shooting table anyway? I just use a card table with a 36″ wide roll of white paper for the backdrop. It seems to work well and was basically free.

By: DigitalPhoto

DigitalPhoto — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:29:06 +0000

In my opinion photoshop is overpriced, Adobe should lower it prices a little bit so it would be more affordable. Or they just do it as an open source, what do you think? lol