Adobe on a budget

[Uncle Frank]

Adobe is the gold standard for photo software, but it ain't cheap. I've enjoyed everything about CS2 except it's RAW editor, ACR 3.1. In my hands, it didn't deliver results that encouraged me to stop being a jpeg shooter. But the version in CS3, ACR 4.5, is widely regarded as much improved, so I was considering an upgrade.

Some of the guys on the Retouching forum, notably Philippe Roger, encouraged me to try out Lightroom 2, which includes ACR 4.5, and after a week's trial, I was hooked. But the $300 price tag gave me pause... until I came up with a plan.

• The day I became a grandpa, I applied for admission to a nearby JC - West Valley College
• Once accepted, I drove over to the campus and got a student ID
• Today, I drove over to an educational software store, Creation Engines, and picked up a student copy of Lightroom 2 for $98.
• Then I registered for a lab course in studio portraiture.

So instead of just getting the software, I'll get LR2 and a college course for about the same price. I'll let you know how the course works out, but right now this seems like a neat deal. Boy the coeds look young .

NOTE: There is discussion later in this thread about possible restrictions imposed by Adobe on copies of Lightroom 2 purchased with a student discount. We've checked the small print, and there are no such clauses in the current licensing agreement for Lightroom 2. Greg (Electromen) actually checked with Adobe, and they confirm there is no restriction against using educational software for payjobs. So take a course at a community college, learn something, and save a bundle at the same time!

 

[Dr A]

congrats Frank. Don't forget to check out those new presets for Lightroom/CS3 Camera Raw. They will work nicely with your NEF's.

 

[Uncle Frank]

congrats Frank. Don't forget to check out those new presets for Lightroom/CS3 Camera Raw. They will work nicely with your NEF's.

I'm not up to speed on the presets. Where do I find them?

 

[Dr A]

I'm not up to speed on the presets. Where do I find them?

http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/DNG_Profiles

 

[Clix Pix]

It's fun going back to school as an adult, Uncle Frank! You'll love it! VERY different from when you were 18 or 19....!

A question, though: will the Student version of Lightroom be OK when you want to upgrade? That is, WILL you be able to upgrade? I think there are issues with student editions of Photoshop, so I'm just wondering about LR.... If you're not able to move beyond whatever version you purchase as a student, then in the end, how much of a savings have you really achieved in the long run? Of course you will have received the benefits of learning stuff in your class!

I am just asking because I don't know the answers here. I don't use LR at all, so this is not an experience nor a consideration for me (Aperture is my editing program of choice), but I do seem to remember hearing that with Photoshop that educational versions were not upgradeable. Don't know if the same applies to LR.

Have fun in class but DO pay attention to the instructor once in a while and take your eyes off those gorgeous young gals!!!

 

[beaucamera]

You're getting smarter and smarter, Frank!
:150:

Virginia
aka beaucamera

 

[wingspar]

A question, though: will the Student version of Lightroom be OK when you want to upgrade?

Adobe gives a discount to students. It’s the exact same version as the retail version most of us pay big dollars for. When you go to upgrade, Adobe makes no differential between student and retail.

 

[mdnativ]

Most colleges give pretty hefty discounts to students for software and computer hardware. The discounts are two fold; they give budget conscious students (after tuition, room/board, books) a chance to purchase the latest products for classwork and it builds a user base for the future when those students graduate and are able to afford the market price of these products.

 

[GonzoBernelli]

Boy the coeds look young

That would be because you are.....










NOT! :biggrin:

 

[Debbi]

Full version but one thing to consider, Adobe has a clause in their license agreement that student versions cannot be used if you are processing pics for profit. Something to think about.

 

[Dr A]

Full version but one thing to consider, Adobe has a clause in their license agreement that student versions cannot be used if you are processing pics for profit. Something to think about.

Frank gets paid only for taking the pics. He processes them for free :biggrin:

 

[Palouse]

Most colleges give pretty hefty discounts to students for software and computer hardware. The discounts are two fold; they give budget conscious students (after tuition, room/board, books) a chance to purchase the latest products for classwork and it builds a user base for the future when those students graduate and are able to afford the market price of these products.

:biggrin:It's sort of like what the tobacco companies have done for years--get the young addicted and then you have them as customers for life--well until they keel over.

Actually many software companies also have discounted academic versions of software for anyone involved in education, including all of Adobe, many statistical programs, and so on. Some go further, for example, we can get Microsoft Office '07 free - the pound of flesh we pay is that all campus email runs through Microsoft Exchange. Yuck!

 

[Uncle Frank]

Full version but one thing to consider, Adobe has a clause in their license agreement that student versions cannot be used if you are processing pics for profit. Something to think about.

Drats, I really must do a better job of reading the small print :Teeth:. I was trying to do the right thing. It would have been easy to get one of my teacher friends to buy the software for me. But instead I took the harder route of applying for admission at a community college. And once I was accepted, the college issued me a student ID, so if I was trying to fiddle the system, I didn't even need to register for a class, but I did. Oh well, now that you've shredded my virtuous self image, I'll reconsider options that fit with my personal standards of morality.

 

[Debbi]

I totally understand. Been there and done that with CS2. Once I started making money off of my photography someone mentioned that little clause to me. After looking it up, I knew that I had to spring for the full copy of CS3 and Lightroom2. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Uncle Frank]

I totally understand. Been there and done that with CS2. Once I started making money off of my photography someone mentioned that little clause to me. After looking it up, I knew that I had to spring for the full copy of CS3 and Lightroom2.

Hmm, you may not be out of the woods yourself, Debbi. Did you use your illicit copy of cs2 as the basis for an inexpensive upgrade, or did you pay full price for cs3 and lr2?

 

[ubetcha]

Adobe is the gold standard for photo software, but it ain't cheap. I've enjoyed everything about CS2 except it's RAW editor, ACR 3.1. In my hands, it didn't deliver results that encouraged me to stop being a jpeg shooter. But the version in CS3, ACR 4.5, is widely regarded as much improved, so I was considering an upgrade.

Some of the guys on the Retouching forum, notably Philippe Roger, encouraged me to try out Lightroom 2, which includes ACR 4.5, and after a week's trial, I was hooked. But the price tag gave me pause... until I came up with a plan.

• The day I became a grandpa, I applied for admission to a nearby JC - West Valley College
• Once accepted, I drove over to the campus and got a student ID
• Today, I drove over to an educational software store, Creation Engines, and picked up a student copy of Lightroom 2 .
• Then I registered for a lab course in studio portraiture.

So instead of just getting the software, I'll get LR2 and a college course for about the same price. I'll let you know how the course works out, but right now this seems like a neat deal.

Note: Boy the coeds look young .

Frank, another really cheap alternative is to buy Elements 4 or 6 and download ACR 4.5 for free.:tongue: See link
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Graphics/Adobe-Camera-RAW.shtml

 

[Debbi]

Hmm, you may not be out of the woods yourself, Debbi. Did you use your illicit copy of cs2 as the basis for an inexpensive upgrade, or did you pay full price for cs3 and lr2?

Nope. Paid for a full version of CS3 and I never had an earlier version of LR. The upgrade would have been nicer to my bank account though.

 

[Electromen]

Frank, That's almost exactly what I did three years ago. Went back to school at night and bought a ton of software at student prices.

Have fun.

 

[Uncle Frank]

Nope. Paid for a full version of CS3 and I never had an earlier version of LR.

Awesome. You're one in a million, Debbi. I hope you don't hold your husband to your standards.

 

[Uncle Frank]

Frank, That's almost exactly what I did three years ago. Went back to school at night and bought a ton of software at student prices.

Good thing you don't use that student software when you're working on payjobs, Greg.