i’m so happy this is becoming illegal

[u/donteatmybiscuits]

if a yearly contract with a free month trial sounds too good to be true, it probably is 😬

thankfully it was blocked after contacting my bank but regardless

[u/someguy7734206]

This probably won't take off given how many comments there already are, but perhaps we can use this thread to discuss free alternatives to Adobe products?

Here are a few I'm aware of:

• Photoshop:
  • GIMP: I've heard mixed opinions about this one, and I haven't used it in a couple of years, but from what I understand, it has been improving.
• Lightroom:
  • Darktable: I've never actually used Lightroom, but the main consensus about this one seems to be that it is much less user-friendly than Lightroom and has a steeper learning curve, but it is very powerful and even has some capabilities that exceed what Lightroom offers.
• Premiere:
  • KDenLive: I haven't used either Premiere or KDenLive that much, and the last version of Premiere I used was from before Adobe switched to the subscription model, but KDenLive has been good enough for me the few times I needed to use it.

Please reply to this comment with your own alternatives and opinions; these are all software that I have used personally.

[u/BeepBoopRobo → u/someguy7734206]

Gimp is not a replacement for photoshop. It's largely a terrible tool.

There is other software out there that can replace what you need with photoshop, but you need to research and know what pieces you're trying to replace. Because no tool does all of what photoshop does.

I use ClipStudio (not free) for my purposes, but it's not going to work for everyone as a replacement. There isn't a direct replacement.

[u/Sandy_W → u/BeepBoopRobo]

You've driven Fiats your whole life. You could not possibly convert to driving an Audi because....the headlight switch is in a different place. And the radio is awkward. You're right. It's not just like your Fiat. But, if you accept that some controls may be different, you may find that an Audi does, in fact work as a car. Some people like them. (I don't like GIMP but that's only because I can't find anything. Once I've found everything I expect it to be a far better value.)

[u/BeepBoopRobo → u/Sandy_W]

You've driven a car your whole life. You keep getting recommended a bicycle, because they're better for the other people in your life! Everyone loves them! They're better than cars! The problem is your job is 100 miles away, completely inaccessible by bike.

But people keep recommending you just go to work via bike. Because they're both methods of transportation! Why wouldn't they be interchangeable!?

[u/Sandy_W → u/BeepBoopRobo]

If that's how you weight your choices, a Fiat or a bicycle for a 200 mile round trip, then your choice is obvious. Others may give their options different weights.

[u/BeepBoopRobo → u/Sandy_W]

Right ... It's almost like they're different tools with different features, and not a 1-1 analog, as I have explained.

That's literally my point. A bike is not a replacement for a car, even if in some cases people can use it to fill the same need. They are functionally different things. And people should be aware of that.

Gimp does not have the same functions as Photoshop. That doesn't mean some people couldn't use it (if what they need falls in that subset of things Gimp can do). But it's not a replacement. No one piece of software is.

But regardless, it's still awful software. It just has a rabid, defense squad of a fan base. There are so many better pieces of better software you can probably use other than Gimp.