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Creative Cloud Photography plan: An Essential Tool for Photographers



By Chris Orwig
Photographer, Author, Educator
www.chrisorwig.com

In order to understand what Creative Cloud Photography plan is, and why it matters, let’s first talk about photographic workflow. As we all know, the photographic workflow begins with the camera. These days, all of the cameras are good - sensors are bigger, lenses are better than ever, especially some of the great Tamron lenses. When it comes to capture, the gear is good, whatever it is.

Photographs straight out of the camera are like a pizza that is uncooked - good but incomplete. Even more, in photography we need powerful tools that can help us view, organize, develop and distribute all of the photographs that we’ve made. That’s where software and workflow comes in. And the quickest way to become a better photographer isn’t to get better with cameras or software; it’s to get better at both.

© Chris Orwig
The sun sets along the California coast. © Chris Orwig

What is Creative Cloud Photography plan?

When it comes to working with apps on a mobile device or software on a laptop/desktop machine, as almost anyone will tell you, the best tools that are currently available to us are Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC. The best way to gain access to them is through the Creative Cloud Photography plan. You download and install the software and then work away. Plus, there are other benefits like Lightroom for mobile and easily sharing your photos across all of your devices. Perhaps the biggest benefit is being able to instantly update to the latest version of the software when it is released so that you can take advantage of new features and technologies right away. When you think of how much these tools help you, it’s almost crazy how little they cost.

© Chris Orwig
Sunrise in Joshua Tree. Creating a look like this is nearly impossible using Lightroom by itself. Such photographs require Lightroom and Photoshop to fine tune the color and vibe. ©Chris Orwig

A Proven Workflow

Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC are the backbone of all that I do. Let me show you how it works.

• If I’m shooting with my iPhone, the process, start with the native camera app or Lightroom for mobile. The advantage of using Lightoom for mobile, included in the Creative Cloud Photography plan, is the ability to shoot in a raw DNG format. This means you can capture the highest possible image quality which gives you more latitude, more options and more creative potential for processing the image. The DNG format has a higher dynamic range which allows you to capture and recover more details in the shadow and highlight. Plus it frees you up to correct or experiment with white balance highlight and make other creative adjustments. Basically, DNG rocks! It’s a feature photographers have been dying for and finally it’s here. Next, after the initial capture my workflow moves to Lightroom for mobile and Adobe Fix to finish off the images. All this work is sync’d to the Creative Cloud so I can access the images on any device (laptop, tablet, etc.).

• If the shoot begins with one of my mirrorless or DSLR cameras, I start by importing my images into Lightroom on my laptop. Next, I synchronize the images to Lightroom for mobile so that I can continue editing them wherever and whenever I want.

• The next step is to choose the keepers or selecting them and organize the files. Depending on how I’m feeling, I’ll do this on my laptop, iPad or iPhone. Because I’ve synchronized the files, I can choose any device. With the help of some Adobe magic, any edits that are made on any device where I’m signed in, are synchronized and the same across all of my devices. This is awesome for three main reasons:
1. It removes a lot of clutter and confusion as my workflow becomes more fluid and flexible as I transition between devices.
2. It makes it easier to share – i.e. if I want to post something on Instagram, it’s much easier to already have the image on my phone than to export and email it to myself.
3. It allows to me use using other mobile apps like Adobe’s set of tools: Photoshop Mix, Photoshop Fix, Behance, Spark or other non-Adobe apps as well. As we all know, the ecosystem of image editing tools, they aren’t tied to the desk anymore. And we need to be able to access them everywhere we go. Adobe Creative Cloud and mobile apps help with that.

• After making the selects, I develop and process the images (either on my laptop, iPad or iPhone). Then if I need to do some retouching or finishing work, I’ll use a mobile app (Photoshop Fix) or go back to my laptop and open the images in Photoshop to make specific corrections or enhancements. Lightroom is really good at doing more of the general and everyday tasks. Photoshop is the specialist that excels at specific things. It isn’t “either or” (i.e. Lightroom vs. Photoshop), it is “both and”. In my own workflow, I use Lightroom and Photoshop for every set of images I have.

• Then after having finished the detail work, it’s time to share the photo(s) on one of the social channels I use. It’s back to Lightroom desktop to select a method for sharing or distributing the images whether that’s to email send to social, make JPGs, make prints, build and order a photo book, create an online web gallery, add them to Adobe Portfolio, tell a story with Adobe Spark, upload them to Adobe Stock for sale, and more…

Return on Investment

I’m aware that there are many different ways to invest your hard earned funds. For me, investing in Photoshop and Lightroom has helped me to become more creative and alive, and it’s helped me to grow and advance my career. So for me, the answer is yes, Creative Cloud Photography plan is definitely worth the investment.

Getting Started

Visit http://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography.html today. If you need a hand learning how to use the new features there are a ton of free tutorials. A good starting pointing would be to visit Adobe’s site. For Photoshop visit: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop.html. For Lightroom visit: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom.html.

Discounted Adobe Creative Cloud
Great news! Purchase specified Tamron lenses and enjoy 20% off the Adobe™ Creative Cloud Photography Plan —including Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop!

SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD (Model F012)
SP 45mm F/1.8 Di VC USD (Model F013)
SP 85mm F/1.8 Di VC USD (Model F016)
SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di VC USD (Model A012)
SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD (Model A007)
SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD (Model A009)
SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 (Model A025)
SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD (Model A011)
SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 (Model A022)
SP 90mm F/2.8 Di VC USD 1:1 MACRO (Model F017)

Details can be found inside the lens box upon purchase from an authorized Tamron USA retailer.

Adobe, the Adobe logo, Creative Cloud, the Creative Cloud logo, Lightroom, and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

© Chris Orwig
Self portrait. ©Chris Orwig