Blog, For Amateurs, For Professionals, Photographer Workflow Guides, Photography Inspiration How to Buy Lightroom in 2019
![It used to be so simple to buy Lightroom. Every 18 months, Adobe would release a new version of Lightroom for photographers to buy outright or upgrade. Now things are a bit more complicated... If you're confused about whether to buy Lightroom 6 outright, or whether to buy Lightroom Classic CC as a subscription, this is the guide for you. (If you're also interested in how to buy Photoshop, I'll discuss this here too.) [separator type="thin"] What's the Best Way to Buy Lightroom? Despite all the other software available to edit and organise your photos in 2018, Lightroom and Photoshop are still the industry standards. Whether you're a professional or an amateur photographer, or simply someone who just wants to make their photos look the best way in the least time, Adobe Lightoom is still number one. One way or another, you need to buy Lightroom, so let's look at the options available to you in 2018 to acquire this amazing software and the pros and cons of each. OPTION 1: Buy Lightroom Classic CC as a Subscription Under the Lightroom Classic CC subscription plan, you can choose between 3 options depending on your needs: 1) Photography Plan with 1TB of Cloud Storage This is a great value option if you only need Lightroom and Photoshop, and includes: Lightroom CC Lightroom Classic CC Photoshop CC Your own portfolio website and social media tools 1TB of cloud storage (about 20,000 raw DSLR images or 200,000 JPEGs) 2) Lightroom CC Plan This is the option if you don't require Photoshop, and includes: Lightroom CC Your own portfolio website and social media tools 1TB of cloud storage (about 20,000 raw DSLR images or 200,000 JPEGs) 3) Creative Cloud All Apps According to Adobe this the most popular option. It includees: The entire collection of 20+ creative desktop and mobile apps including Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, Illustrator CC, and XD CC 100GB of cloud storage, your own portfolio website, premium fonts, and social media tools Pros of Buying Lightroom Classic CC as a Subscription There are several significant pros of paying for Lightroom on one of Adobe's subscription plans. With the extra money generated since Adobe switched to its subscription models, they have invested a lot into making Lightroom much, much better. 1) You get the fastest, best optimized version of Lightroom This is essential for most people. Lightroom Classic CC launches faster, generates previews fasters, imports and exports faster, switches between modules faster, and generally feels much snappier than previous versions of Lightroom. 2) All of the most recent cameras are supported If you own any camera released after Dec 2017, you need to buy Lightroom Classic CC to be able to edit your photos. I bought a Sony a7III earlier this year, and so I had to stop using Lightroom 6 and upgrade to their subscription plan. It's good to know that any new camera I buy will always be supported by Lightroom from now on. 3) You get all the latest Lightroom features This is a huge benefit. Creative Profiles, Expanded Tone Curve, Profile Management, Coloured Labeling, Folder Search, Range Masking, Boundary Warp... these are all incredibly useful features that you'll use every day, and they simply won't ever be available unless you buy Lightroom Classic CC (see all features here). 4) Lightroom CC Being able to sync and backup your imported photos to the cloud, then use a mobile device to cull, rate and edit photos is incredibly liberating. You can also use Photoshop CC to perform more fine tuning on your images, all from the cloud - very impressive. Cons of Buying Lightroom Classic CC as a Subscription The only real con of purchasing Lightroom Classic CC is the cost involved, but for many photographers, this isn't a con at all. Personally, I'd much prefer a fully featured, future-proof product that I have to pay for each month than one that may cost less, but is immediately out of date. I'll discuss this more in detail in the 'How much does Lightroom Cost' section below. [separator type="thin"] OPTION 2: Buy Lightroom 6 Outright I'll admit it - I held off upgrading from my outdated standalone Lightroom 6 software for almost a year. Along with many other photographers, I was angry at Adobe for forcing users into their subscription model, and refusing to keep creating Lightroom standalone products. If you own any of the previous versions of Lightroom, I understand your annoyance too. After all, why should you have to pay a monthly subscription on top of the price you've paid for the original software?! However, it's time to face some facts. Let's have a look at the pros of buying Lightroom 6 as a standalone product: Pros of Buying Lightroom 6 Outright 1) It's Cheaper than Lightroom Classic CC Adobe still sells Lightroom 6, but it's very well hidden on their site - click here to get to it easily. At around $150, it's good value and a one-off payment. 2) It will never Expire With the subscription model, if you stop paying, you'll be left with a restricted version of Lightroom 5.5. You won't have access to the Develop Module, so essentially you'll be left with your edited photos and not a lot else. By buying Lightroom 6 outright, your software will never expire. You pay once, then own it forever. Cons of Buying Lightroom 6 Outright 1) You won't have the fastest, most optimized version of Lightroom This is a huge con of buying Lightroom 6 in 2018. Why pay for software that's outdated, and will run slower and slower over time?! 2) You'll be stuck using older cameras Lightroom 6 won't be able to edit any photos taken with cameras released after Nov 2017. Why limit yourself to old technology - there are so many new and exciting mirrorless cameras being released! 3) You won't have all the latest features Perhaps you don't think you need the latest Lightroom features, but trust me, when you see what more you can do to your photos with the latest updates, you'll want them eventually! 4) No Lightroom CC 5) No Photoshop You'll have to decide for yourself whether these are issues or not, since not everyone needs this software. [separator type="thin"] How Much does Lightroom Cost? Obviously, if you buy Lightroom outright as a standalone product, there's only one cost. You can check the latest price at Adobe here, or at B&H Photo here for comparison, but it's usually about $150. With the Adobe Lightroom Classic CC cost, things are a little more vague. Obviously you can't predict how long you plan to use it, but let's assume you'll use it for 1 year (then reassess and see what other options have appeared in that time). On the Photography Plan with 1TB of Cloud Storage, you'll have spent a total of $239.88 after a year. Yes, it's obviously more than a Lightroom 6 purchase, but how relevant is this to you? Is the cost of Lightroom Classic CC (as a monthly subscription) justifiable to you? In my opinion, if you're a professional, using the latest version of Lightroom is a necessity. You owe it to yourself and to your clients to use the best version of a software, which will support the latest camera technologies. In addition, having access to Photoshop for those photos you can't edit properly in Lightroom is also essential as a working pro. The Adobe Photography Plan is a cost of doing business as a photographer in 2018, and I'm happy to deduct is as an expense to my photography business. Even if you're an amateur photographer, I also recommend you strongly consider Lightroom Classic CC over the standalone versions for the reasons outlined above. If you don't plan to upgrade your camera, don't care for new features, software improvements and speed increases, and/or don't want Photoshop, then Lightroom 6 is still a viable option. [separator type="thin"] How to get a Lightroom Discount Occasionally, Adobe decides to give a discount on Lightroom and its Creative Cloud products. If you don't mind waiting, you can keep checking this link to see if there are any good offers. Another option is if you're a student or a teacher (check eligibility here). If eligible, you can save up to 67% on Creative Cloud products using this link. Finally it's worth mentioning that you can download a free trial of any of the Adobe products here. [separator type="thin"] Final Words No one likes the idea of paying each month for a subscription... especially when that product or service used to be available as a one-off payment. However, once you're committed to buying Lightroom Classic CC, you'll soon realise just how many benefits there are by paying for Lightroom in this way. Many believe that with the massive revenue Adobe has created by encouraging its users into this model, it is now more able to invest heavily into the improvement of Lightroom, Photoshop and every other creative program we all rely on. As a Lightroom subscriber, I'm happy to keep paying the subscription fee, as I feel the benefits hugely outweigh anything else. I hope this article has put some things in perspective for you too. Leave me a comment with your thoughts :-) [separator type="thin"] Disclaimer: All recommendations are impartial and based on actual user experience, with no bias to the products or the brand. 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