Unless you’re a graphic designer or illustrator, or have lots of money to spend, you don’t really need Photoshop to edit your images. Spend the $700 on a new lens, or back up hard drive instead. If photography becomes your full time job and you earn a good profit, then sure, splurge.

Is Photoshop necessary?

Photoshop is ideal for pixel manipulation. Meaning, taking things OUT of photos, slimming people down, extensive air-brushing, etc. However, for most photographers, Photoshop is not necessary, at least in the beginning. In this image below, all the basic corrections/editing were completed in Lightroom.

Is Photoshop good for beginners?

Although you may feel intimidated by Photoshop as a new photo editor, it’s still one of the best photo editing software for beginners to learn. Adobe Photoshop is a layer-based editing program, which can take some time to get used to, but it’s worth the effort.