Adobe Photoshop

About Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is the world's leading professional image editing software, originally created by Thomas and John Knoll in 1987 and acquired by Adobe in 1988. Photoshop established the vocabulary of digital image editing — layers, masks, channels, blend modes, and the Clone Stamp — concepts that nearly all image editors have adopted. Professional photographers, graphic designers, digital artists, and web designers rely on Photoshop for photo retouching, compositing, digital painting, and creating web assets. Adobe Creative Cloud subscription pricing puts Photoshop at $22.99/month standalone or $59.99/month as part of the full Creative Cloud suite. Photoshop's latest versions include substantial AI features under the Adobe Firefly brand: Generative Fill extends backgrounds or removes objects using AI, Generative Expand adds canvas space intelligently, and Neural Filters apply complex effects like face smoothing or color transfer. The app is available on Windows, macOS, and iPad (limited feature set). Photoshop works seamlessly with Lightroom (photo management), Illustrator (vector), InDesign (layout), and After Effects (motion). Industry certifications (Adobe Certified Professional) are built around Photoshop skills. While competitors like GIMP (free), Affinity Photo (one-time purchase), and Canva have grown, Photoshop remains the professional standard with no credible replacement for complex compositing work.