In this lecture I’ll break down what’s the deal with all the Photoshop versions out there. The short answer you’re looking for is this: the best Photoshop version is the latest one – CC 2022. This requires a paid subscription from adobe.com. The best choice is the Photography plan which starts at $10 per month. Don’t buy the individual plan, it’s not worth the extra cloud storage and you’re not missing out on anything. The first 7 days are completely free. Go to adobe.com, create a free account, and download the trial. That’s it for the basics. That’s all you absolutely need to know.
The best Photoshop version is the latest one – CC 2022
Now let’s get into a few more details. Is Photoshop Elements ok? No, it’s not, that’s a completely different program and it’s not appropriate for this course. How about using an iPad instead of a computer? Again, no, that’s a completely different experience. How about Photoshop CS3, CS4 or CS5? While they can work, I would not recommend it. It’s like working on Windows 98 while having a ton of better options out there.
For example, CS4 was launched way back in 2008. Using extremely outdated software is never a good idea. You could work along, but it wouldn’t be a great experience. It’s like parking a car in a tight space without any sensors or cameras. Sure, you could manage, but it’s not ideal.
CS6 is the oldest version you should be using. That was launched way back in 2012 so even that’s very outdated. You’ll miss out on some nice improvements and features, but, having said that, if you’re patient, you could use Photoshop CS6 I just don’t recommend it.
In conclusion, expect various design changes if you’re on an older version. But let me stress this point – these are mostly visual. They don’t stop you from working. And for those 2-3 different behaviours, I’ll create separate lectures so you’ll have no trouble with them.
Overall, you shouldn’t be too worried about using an older Photoshop version as long as it’s not something extremely outdated. As I said, the ideal situation is you have a creative cloud subscription. Let me explain how this works.
Creative Cloud – what is it?
Back in the day, Adobe launched programs like CS4, 5, 6 and they had a fixed price. For example, CS6 retailed for $699. So 700 dollars for one program.
That was a huge amount and not a lot of people could afford it. In 2013 Adobe completely changed their pricing by launching the creative cloud or, in short, CC. This meant the user would pay a monthly subscription and he would receive all the updates and bug fixes for free.
And that’s where we’re currently at. Photoshop CC 2022 is the newest one at the time of this recording. When any update comes along, I get a notice from my Adobe Creative Cloud program. I click one button and the new version gets installed. This applies for everybody that has a legal version of Photoshop. So if you have a subscription, you probably have the latest version.
Thus, nobody is stuck on CC 2014 or 2017 because the upgrade is free and it’s easy to do. But let’s just say you forgot to upgrade and you’re using an older CC version, what then? Don’t worry about it! Over 90% of what I teach you applies to all Photoshop versions.
Don’t use this as an excuse to not watch and learn Photoshop. The changes between CC editions are minimal. The interface is slightly different, Ctrl+Z and Shift work differently, but honestly – not a lot else has changed. So if your interface doesn’t completely match up with what you see on your screen, please don’t stress over it. If there’s any confusion, just ask for help.
And like I said in the beginning – if you don’t want to invest any money, you can create a free account on adobe.com and you’ll get a free 7-day trial.
