Let’s settle this: Affinity or Adobe (Photoshop)?

[TeddieBear]

Hey everyone!

I’m aiming to learn design, photography, and a couple of other skills.

I keep going back and forth on what to get.

I’m pretty new to all this, so I want to make sure I pick the right software and learn it. From what I’ve been reading, skill-wise, if you know one set of software, you’ll understand the other for the most part.

I want to become a professional in this field, not a “pro-Sumer

Also, resume-wise (or job requirement-wise), if a job requires you to know photoshop/have photoshop skills, can you say you do have the skills if you have the Affinity apps but not Photoshop?

So, all in all, regardless of my goals, for you personally, what programs would you go for? The Affinity or Adobe apps?

 

[BootLoxes]

From my experience there is a lot of overlap between the two programs. If you work in the industry you will most likely be on photoshop. If you go the freelance route affinity would be the better option.

 

[casperes1996]

I prefer Affinity because of their pricing structure. If money wasn’t an object or their financial models were the same, I’d still prefer Photoshop, even though Affinity has come a long way.

Regarding industry use, BootLoxes is right.

I will add though that with most work it’s not about knowing how to use a specific piece of software. It’s about the underlying knowledge. Just like being a programmer isn’t about knowing Xcode, or being a photographer isn’t about knowing all the menus and buttons on your camera.

 

[Blue Velvet]

I want to become a professional in this field

Then it's Photoshop and its continued integration in the CC suite, especially if you wish to work within teams.

I haven't used Affinity and no studio I've personally run or worked in uses it either. Looking through various creative roles and resumes at the moment, not one requests or lists anything outside of Creative Cloud, except for Sketch, Invision and perhaps CAD (e.g. Vectorworks) or presentation software. My hunch is that Adobe XD and other apps in the suite might make some inroads into some of those markets, too.

No slur on Affinity, but as for now Photoshop is the baseline industry standard in terms of your marketability. When those recruiters and gatekeepers are scanning or reading your resume for keywords, they're unlikely to be looking for Affinity skills, I'm afraid to say. However, Affinity might be a good place to start to get the basics under your belt with masking, layers, selections, sharpening etc. These aren't design skills, they're artworking skills.

Get a student license, if you can.

 

[casperes1996]

My hunch is that Adobe XD and other apps in the suite might make some inroads into some of those markets, too.

XD is already quite big for UX design, but IMO it's a horrible program. The latest update fixed some of my major issues, especially with collaborative workflows, but I still hate XD with a passion

 

[TeddieBear]

No slur on Affinity, but as for now Photoshop is the baseline industry standard in terms of your marketability.

Get a student license, if you can.

This is what I’m thinking.

I purchased Affinity Photo for iPad and I like it. It seems pretty simple to use.

I plan on freelancing, so like @BootLoxes said, Affinity could be a great option for me.

Bu I just keep thinking people will ask me about knowing how to use photoshop or require photoshop skills for their projects.

I work full time, a student, and learning to code, so my free time is limited and just want to make sure I use that free time (and money) to learn the program that will provide me with more job opportunities.

I suppose I answered my own question...

 

[BootLoxes]

This is what I’m thinking.

I purchased Affinity Photo for iPad and I like it. It seems pretty simple to use.

I plan on freelancing, so like @BootLoxes said, Affinity could be a great option for me.

Bu I just keep thinking people will ask me about knowing how to use photoshop or require photoshop skills for their projects.

I work full time, a student, and learning to code, so my free time is limited and just want to make sure I use that free time (and money) to learn the program that will provide me with more job opportunities.

I suppose I answered my own question...

Like i said there is a lot of overlap. If you learn one, learning the other will be pretty easy

 

[TeddieBear]

Like i said there is a lot of overlap. If you learn one, learning the other will be pretty easy

True.

I’ll wait to make my decision until the end of then month. The Affinity apps were on sale last year for Black Friday, so I’ll wait and see if they have any sales this year, too.

 

[casperes1996]

This is what I’m thinking.

I purchased Affinity Photo for iPad and I like it. It seems pretty simple to use.

I plan on freelancing, so like @BootLoxes said, Affinity could be a great option for me.

Bu I just keep thinking people will ask me about knowing how to use photoshop or require photoshop skills for their projects.

I work full time, a student, and learning to code, so my free time is limited and just want to make sure I use that free time (and money) to learn the program that will provide me with more job opportunities.

I suppose I answered my own question...

I’d say that if they are smart they won’t require specific program knowledge. As I made in analogy earlier, a programming job won’t say “Xcode experience required” or “Must know IntelliJ”. It’s not about the individual editor you use, but the process and that’s the same for both.

Affinity is pay once. Photoshop is continuous payment. That was the determining factor for me. But I’m a computer scientist by trade, and this stuff is hobby for me, so the importance of that is variable from individual situation to situation.

I’ll tell you this though, whichever you start working with isn’t a time waste. Even if you find you’ve learned ”the wrong tool”, you can take those hours and hours of learning, and in half an hour be proficient with the other tool.

 

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Try to learn both. If you do have a full month of less studies or during your holidays, just take a free 30-day trial period of Adobe Creative Cloud and see how you like it. And yes, just wait for Black Friday and get all three Serif apps Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer and Affinity Publisher.
In practice, if you get a job, you'll never know everything, but if you're willing to keep the job, you should immediately organize your knowledge, e.g. buying and reading books about the topics that you don't know. I bet within your team this strategy makes you an expert from novice quite instantly. Fast and autonomous problem solving and lifelong learning is a huge part of a creative's professional career.

 

[gugy]

If you work in the industry, there is no discussion. Adobe.
Affinity is great but if you work with others and have to exchange files with coworkers and clients, then the answer is Adobe.

 

[TheGenerous]

This is what I would do.

A. I will get Affinity products whenever there is a sale and learn it via tutorials and trial-and-error.​

B. Watch Adobe tutorials and try to replicate things in Affinity.​

C. I will work hard to make stuff for a portfolio. There's no resume in design, you show your portfolio of design works. Look on YouTube for TheFutur advice on creating portfolios to get a job in design.​

D. Once I have money, or a job in design, then I'll purchase one year of Adobe CC and learn the stuff.​

This is assuming you only need Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. For video tools Adobe might be the only option

 

[casperes1996]

This is assuming you only need Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. For video tools Adobe might be the only option

Not the case at all, DaVinci Resolve has a free tier that is absolutely excellent, Final Cut is great but less likely to land you work in traditional media, though definitely still possible, and even Avid has a free variant of MediaComposer used extensively in Hollywood

 

[TheGenerous]

Not the case at all, DaVinci Resolve has a free tier that is absolutely excellent, Final Cut is great but less likely to land you work in traditional media, though definitely still possible, and even Avid has a free variant of MediaComposer used extensively in Hollywood

Nice, I dindt know them. Seems like we all need a table to show alternatives to the Adobe CS

 

[Release]

If you're looking to do it professionally, then start with Adobe. Yea, the underlying structure is similar but there's definitely a learning curve if you started on one and jumped to another. Case in point: If you get hired and they ask you to do something in Photoshop quickly, and all you know is the Affinity workflow, you're not going to make a good first impression. The transition is easier when you've been going it a while but there are still fundamental differences in the way you do things. Things might be different in a few years when you're ready to enter the field but for now, Adobe is still king.

 

[0388631]

It's not a bad piece of kit, but it needs to expand and refine itself.

 

[Herbert123]

Neither, or rather: PhotoLine with a smudge of Affinity Photo, and Affinity Publisher. In its current state Affinity Photo is too limited for my work, and PhotoLine runs circles around it. Affinity Photo still suffers from a lot of basic workflow issues (as does Designer), which just make it a too frustrating user experience for me.

 

[Blue Velvet]

There's no resume in design

This is incorrect.

 

[||\||]

As others have said, if you want to break into the field of imaging and ever plan to work for someone other than yourself, you need to learn Photoshop. This goes for photography, design, or Web/print production. It is the industry standard. A lot of what you learn will carry over to other applications, though you might achieve results through a slightly different method - the inverse is not always the case. You may not use Photoshop personally, but if you want to be a professional in the industry, you will need to understand the professional’s tools.

 

[superscape]

Definitely a +1 for Photoshop... *if* you want to work in a professional studio.

My day job sees me work for one of the largest packaging design companies in the world (possibly the biggest...) and we collaborate daily with very many design studios. Absolutely no-one uses Affinity. No-one. This saddens me, because I really like Affinity and have no love of Photoshop or Adobe as a company.

That said, maybe one day the Rebel Alliance will triumph over the Empire - so it certainly won't do you any harm to be competent on both. Just make sure you know your way around Photoshop.

Having said that, if I was setting up shop as a freelance designer then I'd be buying Affinity's products like a shot...

 

[weaztek]

I'm a freelance photographer full-time. In my line of work I save & deliver final files as either a .tif or a .jpg.
It makes no difference what app created those files. Sometimes I save them from Luminar 4, sometimes Aurora HDR 2019, sometimes DxO Film Pack 5, sometimes Photoshop, sometimes LensFlare Studio. My clients don't know or care what app the files were created in as long as it's high-quality.