Reviewed by Ron Risman, February 6th, 2009
Introduction
In November Adobe upgraded virtually all of their web, design, video, and photography software in an
attempt to take the best and make it even better. While there are many competing products on the market
in each of Adobe's area of expertise, none have really been able to cut into Adobe's dominating market share, at
least in the Photography and Design markets. With the release of the Adobe Creative Suite CS4 collection, Adobe
is also letting us know that the future is now - by incorporating powerful 3D tools, enhanced video tools and integration,
and creating a common interface and gateway that allow the applications to better share assets among each other.
For the past five years I have been using both Macromedia Fireworks and Adobe Photoshop CS or CS2
as part of my daily workflow to edit images for the web and for personal use. I would use Fireworks whenever
I needed to do a quick image adjustment for web use and Photoshop when I wanted to edit or enhance photographs
- either for web or print. Today, most of my photo management and editing takes place in Adobe Lightroom 2.0, with
additional processing in Adobe Photoshop CS4.
This combination of software has worked pretty well for me, however, the state of photography is changing, and as someone who loves to
be on the forefront of technology I feel I need to change with it. In the past couple of months we have seen the introduction of
new digital SLR's that will record high definition video (Nikon D90 and Canon EOS 5D Mark II). The ability for these new cameras
to capture high-definition video and high-resolution stills begs for a new workflow, one that will allow us to edit and
incorporate both photographs and video in our work, on our web sites, and within our portfolios.
Even today, many photographers are using video to capture their on-location shoots in order to help demonstrate their style and workflow,
as well as to help put their clients at ease by allowing them to get to know the photographer and what to expect before hand.
Aside from workflow and possibly the approach to shoot, there are not a lot of difference between a photographer and a videographer?
Both capture a slice of time in order to preserve it as a cherished memory for generations to come, both are usually covering the same events, video and stills are now just as
likely to be captured on similar media - usually flash or HDD based, and it's even possible to grab a low-resolution still frame from HD video -
one that might have been missed otherwise - for use as a small 4x6" or 5x7" photograph. This is already happening in newsprint and on
the web where the resolution requirements are much lower.
If you believe that the future is truly in mixed media then you should consider moving beyond just what Adobe Photoshop offers and
consider one of Adobe's Creative Suites. Adobe Creative Suites contain a related mix of applications that can help take your photography,
business, and marketing to the next level. For photographers interested in incorporating video into their media presentation and client services
I would highly recommend that you consider either the "Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium" or "Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection."
Both of these suites include Adobe Photoshop CS4
Extended for editing and enhancing photographs, as well as Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, which provides the power to produce professional videos, movies,
and the combination of both to sell or to use for marketing your business. Each of the suites also include additional software to help
create, edit, and market your business. In the end, what separates a successful photographer and one that isn't as successful is usually in
how they market and manage themselves and their business. Adobe Creative Suites will also save you up to 60% compared to buying these applications
separately. Actually, just buying Photoshop CS4 Extended and Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 separately would cost more than buying the Adobe Creative
Suite CS4 Production Premium Edition and when you get this Creative Suite you'll also be getting Illustrator CS4, Flash CS4, After Effects CS4, Encore CS4,
OnLocation CS4, and Soundbooth CS4.
This table outlines the software included in each of the two Creative Suites mentioned above.
|
Production Premium |
Master Collection |
Description |
| Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended |
Yes |
Yes |
Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended software delivers all the photo editing features in Photoshop CS4,
plus new features for working with 3D imagery, motion-based content. |
| Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 |
Yes |
Yes |
Capture, Edit, and Deliver video online, on air, on disc, or even on devices such as iPods, iPhones, and other mobile devices. Edit video in virtually
any format without transcoding or rewrapping. |
| After Effects CS4 |
Yes |
Yes |
After Effects provide the ability to create motion graphics and visual
effects. Import 3D layers from Photoshop CS4 Extended and add them to your video. Great for
logo, video introductions, and more. |
| Flash CS4 Professional |
Yes |
Yes |
Flash is being used more and more with photography web sites as it is the ultimate way
to present your photographs while reducing possibilities of image theft. Adobe Flash CS4 Professional provides
the tools to create web sites, video clips, slideshows, and virtually anything you can think of.
|
| Illustrator CS4 |
Yes |
Yes |
When you think of marketing your business your first thought might be to create a logo for your company. Adobe
Illustrator CS4 allows you to easily take control by providing the tools to create professional logos, graphics,
as well as complete page layouts using vector graphics. Vector graphics scale to any size while retaining
full resolution, unlike bitmap graphics that cannot be scaled up without image degradation.
|
| Soundbooth CS4 |
Yes |
Yes |
Soundbooth provides the ability to edit your own audio recordings in a multi-track environment - providing the tools to enhance the sound
quality of your video productions, podcasts, and more. Clean up audio, customize music, add sound effects, and more.
|
| Adobe OnLocation CS4 |
Yes |
Yes |
As you explore videography further, Adobe OnLocation CS4 will be there to allow direct-to-disc
recording and monitoring. Adobe OnLocation CS4 is part of Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 thus workflow is fully integrated
between the two.
|
| Encore CS4 |
Yes |
Yes |
Also part of Adobe Premiere CS4, Encore provides a wide selection of tools for
authoring your videos, movies, and slideshows to DVD, Blu-ray disc, or as flash (SWF) files for use
online.
|
| Adobe Bridge CS4 |
Yes |
Yes |
Adobe Bridge allows you to easily find, view, and manage all of your media from one central location.
|
| Adobe Device Central CS4 |
Yes |
Yes |
This may not be the most needed application for Photographers and Videographer's, but Adobe Device Central
does simplify the distribution of your content on mobile phones and electronic devices. The software allows you to test
and simulate network performance of your mobile content with a wide variety of devices.
|
| Dynamic Link |
Yes |
Yes |
Dynamic Link provides tighter integration when moving graphics, audio, and video between
Adobe After Effects CS4, Adobe Premiere CS4, Soundbooth CS4, and Encore CS4. You're able to work faster by eliminating
intermediate rendering when you make changes to any part of the production. For example, with dynamically linking, any
content changes made in Premiere Pro are automatically reflected in your After Effects compositions.
|
| InDesign CS4 |
--- |
Yes |
InDesign CS4 makes it easy to design professional brochures and layouts for both
print and digital publishing. Create pamphlets, handouts, business cards, books, covers, calendars, and
produce them in a wide variety of formats (print, flash, pdf documents, etc.).
|
| Acrobat 9 Pro |
--- |
Yes |
When you're ready to publish, Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro is there. Create media rich PDF
presentations that incorporate flash, video, audio, and applications you've created. Collaborate online
with clients and more.
|
| Dreamweaver CS4 |
--- |
Yes |
Design, create and maintain professional web sites with leading web authoring tools.
Use Live View to see exactly how your web page will look in browsers, integrate graphics, video, dynamic content
from databases and instantly update the changes on your live web site.
|
| Fireworks CS4 |
--- |
Yes |
Even though Photoshop CS4 is included, Fireworks was designed from the ground
up to be a web design application. Create and optimize images for use online, create a clickable prototype as
an interactive PDF file for demo and review purposes.
|
| Contribute CS4 |
--- |
Yes |
Contribute allows you to share control by enabling users to
collaboratively author, review, and publish web content without any knowledge of HTML and
while maintaining site integrity. Contribute CS4 allows you to make edits and changes from
within a web browser. Edit advanced layouts using Dreamweaver designed templates, and drag and
drop video, flash, and other rich media onto your pages.
|
| Version Cue CS4 |
--- |
Yes |
Version Cue CS4 automatically manages file versions, allowing
you to work on shared projects, in parallel, while the software keeps track of file comments
and versions.
|
The chart above leaves out Adobe's Creative Suite Web Premium and Creative Suite Design Premium as they do
not include Adobe's Premiere CS4 video editing software. Since it is my belief that video will be playing
a growing role in the business of photography I felt that it made sense to focus attention on these two Creative Suite options.
If you do not plan on making video a part of your business then definitely consider one of the two suites I just mentioned as they
offer a tremendous value for those looking to create and manage their web sites or marketing materials in-house.
Of course, each of Adobe's Creative Suites have their strengths:
Creative Suite Web Premium includes Dreamweaver CS4, Soundbooth CS4, and Contribute CS4. These three
additional applications provide the tools you need to design and maintain web sites, multi-track audio recording,
and to collaborate with others on projects.
Creative Suite Design Premium is best suited for media publishing as it includes
InDesign CS4, a powerful page and screen layout application for brochures, handouts, flyers, business cards,
calendars, and more - while leaving out Contribute CS4 and Soundbooth CS4.
Over the past eight weeks I have been busy learning, using, and writing about the new features found in Adobe Photoshop CS4. The first
part of this review will be focused on Adobe Photoshop CS4 / Extended with information about the new features as well as video demonstrations
that show you up-close how some of these new features work.
Over the next few months I plan to provide reviews and product videos to demonstrate many of applications that are included
as part of the Production Premium and Master Collection bundles. The integration that Adobe has created with the release
of Adobe Photoshop CS4 Creative Suites is unparalleled in the industry. The ability to exchange files
back and forth while keeping the files in their native state will truly speed up your workflow, which will
help to compensate for the rather steep learning curve of each of these applications. Keep in mind that you
do not need to learn everything about each application in order to benefit from them. How many of us really
know Photoshop inside and out. The power of each application is that there are often more than one way to
get to the same end result. It is this flexibility that allow us the freedom of expression that
makes our work and workflow so individual.
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HOT DEALS
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Pentax Optio I-10 Compact Digital Camera Classic
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Manfrotto 701HDV Pro Fluid Video Mini Head
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Canon VIXIA HF S100 HD Flash Memory Camcorder (Free Xtra Battery)
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Canon Powershot SX20 IS with 20x Optical Zoom
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Blazing Fast A-DATA 533x Turbo 32 GB CompactFlash Memory Card
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Nikon SB-600 Speedlight
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Adorama Mini Soft Box Diffuser for Shoe Mount Flashes
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Joby Professional Gorillapod Focus, Flexible Aluminum SLR Tripod
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