Review
Adobe Photoshop CC is the latest version of the world famous photo editing tool developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated back in 1990. Even though is hard to believe, Photoshop started out as a program to view greyscale images on monochromatic screens. Many years have passed since then, and the program has been turned into one of the most powerful and versatile photo editing tools ever seen. This last version offers several major improvements, new tools and the same fluid workflow that makes Photoshop the program of choice for millions of people all over the world.
This last version offers several major improvements, new tools and the same fluid workflow
Even though the program was originally released as a utility for enhancing pictures, that use is only the tip of the iceberg, as Photoshop can be used for almost anything you can imagine. You can create complex photomontages, vector designs, posters and basically any kind of photo manipulation. Moreover, Photoshop is commonly used by digital artists and designers to create stunning pieces of artwork from scratch either by using its preset brushes and adjustments or by installing plugins or custom brushes to make their work easier.
Unlike older versions of the Adobe Suite, this program is now part of Adobe Creative Cloud, a service designed to unify the whole suite. Creative Cloud offers downloadable desktop versions of all Adobe’s programs and grants instant access to updates and fixes using cloud technology. You can also have your files organized across several computers, so you can work with them anywhere. Besides, Adobe Creative Cloud offers an easy way to share your creations with the community and collaborate on projects of interest using tools like Story CC, all from your desktop.
The interface of the program remains almost the same as in CS6 version. The bar containing every tool you need to work is placed on the left side of the screen. The adjustments, file options and filters can be accessed through the bar located at the top of the screen. The right side of the screen houses a panel that displays layers, channels and paths. This settings are fully customizable; you are free to remove tools that you’re not going to use for your current work or add new panels to the interface and attach them anywhere you want to create your own workspace. This is quite useful when it comes to creating different workspaces for different purposes, as you can save your new workspace to use it whenever you need it. If you mess things up, you can always reset the default interface and try again.
New Features and Tools
Adobe Photoshop CC brings in lots of tools that will make your work easier. Smart Sharpen filter can be used to sharpen your image in a much more clean way, minimizing common problems such as halos or noise. The filter analyzes the image to maximize clarity and give it a high-quality, natural looking result. Perspective Warp allows you to easily adjust the perspective of a specific part of your picture without affecting any other areas surrounding it. This can be used to change the viewpoint of any object you want, such as changing a wide-angle shot into a telephoto shot. Moreover, Perspective Warp allows you to composite images seamlessly, using different camera positions or vanishing points.
You can now add different photographic blurs using intuitive on-canvas controls. You can blur everything to sharpen a focal point, create tilt-shift effects or create varying levels of blurriness within the same image. Besides, your blurs won’t be destructive thanks to the Smart Object support. This feature allows you to apply Blur or Liquify effects without harming the original image. You can edit and remove these effects whenever you want, even after saving your project.
As Photoshop is now part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, it provides you with several powerful video editing features such as the advanced 3D image analysis tools that were also present in Adobe Photoshop Extended. Moreover, you can now make the most of the Adobe Reflow CC integration, as it allows you to import assets from Photoshop with just a click. You can then adjust your layouts so they adjust to any kind of device.
3D printers are one of the most clever inventions nowadays, and Photoshop clearly wants to stay connected with this technology. This is why developers included the 3D Printing feature in this new CC version. 3D Printing allows you to view 3D designs and effortlessly refine and preview your final model. The 3D Printing feature supports models created with other 3D programs like Cinema 4D or Autodesk Maya. Moreover, you can print your design directly to a local 3D printer or use an online service for it. You can apply 3D effects to your designs using Photoshop, such as refractions or shadows when you paint on texture maps or 3D objects. Photoshop allows you to work with 3D models with a panel that features many of the well-known tools from the Layers panel.
One of the coolest tools added to this CC version is the Camera Shake Reduction. This helps you stabilize a blurry shot, whether the blur was caused because of a long focal length or a slow shutter speed. Camera Shake reduction analyzes the original trajectory of the shot and restores its sharpness. Bear in mind that this tool won’t be suitable for all blurry shots. Adobe Photoshop CC also comes with real-time image assets generation. This technology saves tagged layers and groups of layers as individual images while you work with Photoshop. You are free to choose the format these are saved in and Photoshop will collect them into a single folder for you.
Linked Smart Objects enables you to use linked smart objects that reference other files placed on your network drive or your local system. These can be repurposed across several Photoshop documents easily, giving smaller and more manageable files that will save you some hard-disk space. Linked Smart Objects is perfect for collaborations while it helps you work more efficiently. Adobe Generator grants you deeper access to Photoshop files, this makes things easier when it comes to using intelligent tools that automate different tasks, providing an smoother workflow.
Intelligent Upsampling is a useful tool that allows you to enlarge any low-resolution image so its quality becomes decent enough in print. It also works for the opposite action; you can choose a large image and reduce it to poster size without preserving all details and avoiding noise. Intuitive Path Editing enables you to modify paths in fewer clicks. You can select multiple shapes, paths or vector masks simultaneously (even across layers) and then resize and edit these shapes before or after they are created.
As it was expected, the famous plugin Camera RAW is still with us in the Adobe Photoshop CC version, even though it’s not a plugin anymore, as it’s integrated within Adobe Photoshop. Camera RAW is a powerful image processing engine used mostly by photographers to have full control of their pictures. The new Camera RAW 8 applies camera raw edits as a filter to any file or any layer you want inside the program, to improve them the way you need. Camera RAW 8 offers a much more accurate way to fix distortions, heal images and create vignettes.
Adobe Photoshop CC features Behance integration, which means you can share your work in progress and show your upcoming creations to the community to get feedback. You can also post your finished work to ProSite, a fully customizable portfolio designed for professionals. With Adobe Photoshop CC you can keep working without worries as you save a large file in the background. The Auto-Recovery option will take care of your edits without interrupting your work.
The improved Content-Aware technologies allow you to take full control and edit images accurately without too much effort. You just have to select the object you want to edit, then rescale, remove or reposition it, and the Content-Aware technology will do the rest by patching, filling, extending or recomposing your picture. You can also save time on other common tasks thanks to some workflow enhancements that enable you to create a path by using modifier keys or even move a path with the spacebar.
The new Type styles let you save your formatting as a preset, so your work won’t be lost after hours getting your text to look right. Later on you can apply your Type style to other text with just a click. Moreover, you can define different type styles and use them across different Photoshop documents. You can see a realistic preview of your type and how it will look on the web with an option that simulates the anti-aliasing of your own system.
Features
Here you can check out the features of Adobe Photoshop CC before you download it:
Improved performance and better responsiveness thanks to Adobe Mercury Engine
3D Printing features: view and edit designs from other 3D programs such as Cinema 4D or Autodesk Maya and print your models
Adobe Creative Cloud: get instant access to the latest updates and fixes, work seamlessly, collaborate with the community and synchronize files across multiple computers effortlessly
Camera RAW 8: apply camera raw edits as filters to any file or layer to enhance them the way you want
Perspective Warp: adjust the perspective of a specific part of an image without affecting the rest
Smart Sharpen filter: sharpen your pictures with rich details and textures without losing quality or adding noise
Camera Shake Reduction: restore sharpness accurately for your blurred pictures
Real-time image asset generation: Photoshop saves tagged layers as individual files and collects them in a folder
Linked Smart Objects: repurpose your Smart Objects across different Photoshop files to get smaller documents and save hard-disk space
If you are interested in Adobe Photoshop CC and need further information before you download it, please visit the developer’s official website.
System Requirements
The minimum system requirements to download and run this photo editing program are:
Operating system: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or later
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2 GHz or AMD equivalent
RAM memory: 1 GB or higher
Hard disk: 2.5 GB of free space
Internet connection required for software activation