Subscription Fears

That's right. IF one decides to go with the Adobe subscription program it's best to understand how the program works before making the commitment. Regardless of how one signs up, it is a one-year commitment. Renewals are for a full year. So far, in the years that the creative cloud subscription program has been offered, the price hasn't increased. In fact, as I recall, the price for the subscription for the full package has decreased. I think it boils down to this; either you're in or you're not. If you think you're going to dip your toe in the subscription plan for a couple of months and then drop out, forget it. You'll get burned. If you're a long time Lightroom user and understand the program and want to keep using it then just commit, decide how you're going to make the payment, and then move on. You have to do that with your mobile phone, and I don't think anyone considers dropping that service.

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@default529iv9ha43ek wrote:

BUT and this is a huge BUT... The horror stories I have read about subscription cancelation abuses and ownership/access of my files

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The subscription cancellation issues may be real. I have read those stories too. You are not reading them here probably because the users replying so far may not have gone through the Adobe cancellation “experience.” Assuming the stories are true, those are the domain of the Adobe customer service/retention department, and not a function of the software itself.

Also, some (not all) of the “horror stories” have turned out to be customers who did not read the fine print. For example, one way to get charged an exorbitant cancellation fee is to sign up for an annual plan and cancel before one year is up. If the intention was to cancel after a few months, a month-to-month (not annual) plan should have been chosen. This is not to place all blame on the user; the difference is not always made clear on the Adobe site (like any company they want to lock you in). The lesson is to read carefully what you are signing up for, and make sure you know the difference between:

A: Annual commitment, paid annually. 

B: Annual commitment, paid monthly. 

C: Month-to-month commitment, paid monthly. 

Many people probably choose B because it costs less than C, but the reason it costs less is you are committing to a year at a time, so you must cancel only at the end of an annual period, or face an early termination fee.

Basically, read the fine print, and read it mindfully.

The issue about “horror stories about…ownership/access of my files” is less clear. The facts are…

The Adobe General Terms of Use clearly state that:

1.5 Ownership. You (as a Business or an individual, as applicable) retain all rights and ownership of your Content. We do not claim any ownership rights to your Content.

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If you use Lightroom (not Classic), where you store all your originals on Adobe cloud servers, you have access to your originals for up to a year after you cancel, and during that time you can use the free Adobe Lightroom Downloader app to pull them all back down in bulk.

If you use Lightroom Classic (the current continuation of your version), you never send originals to the Adobe cloud because even if you sync collections to the cloud, what gets synced are downsampled Smart Previews. Because Lightroom Classic is built to store originals only on your own local storage devices.

I am like you: I prefer both storing my originals locally and backing them up myself, and I prefer the Lightroom Classic feature set. So I don’t use Lightroom much, just Classic. If you use Classic, it’s unlikely you will ever need to increase the storage you pay for on Adobe cloud servers since you won’t use it much.

Another fear frequently repeated on forums is that Adobe is surely going to jack up the price at any time. But in the near-decade since Creative Cloud started, as far as I can tell, if the price has gone up it hasn’t even kept up with inflation. On the other hand, I cancelled Netflix because their HD rate kept climbing to the point that it is now significantly more than I would be charged for the Creative Cloud Photography Plan. (Note: Apparently, in some regions of the world Adobe may adjust the price to compensate for currency rate fluctuations.)

No, it’s not perfect, sometimes updates come with bugs that need another update to fix. And while Adobe keeps improving performance, it always seems like there is more they can do. But we probably can’t totally avoid that with any developer. If you want to use non-subscription applications, it’s easy to find strong alternatives to the Develop module (raw processing) in Lightroom. What is harder, if you need it, is finding a strong alternative to the digital asset management features in the Library module.

Lightroom Classic is simply the upgraded version of what you have been using, and is light years ahead of Lightroom 4.5 as far as what you can do for your clients. Lightroom Classic installs locally on your computer, just like the version you have been using. The difference, it is delivered and updated via the cloud. And, instead of having to purchase upgrades every year, to enable you to have support for new cameras and their raw formats, updates are made available via the cloud approximately every three months. Instead of getting by with old outdated software and (maybe?) saving a little money, you always have access to the latest tools. Your images are always YOUR images, completely in YOUR control. The Adobe cloud is simply a delivery system to keep you updated with all the latest tools. If you are someone who provides photographic services for others, you owe it to yourself and to them to have the best tools available to provide the best product you can provide. And with an old version of Lightroom like you are using now you simply don't have that to offer.

While terse and blunt, what dj_paige said was not abusive. I do think you're taking blunt talk as personal. 

But on a slightly different note I do have to ask: you state you have 3 TB of images on disk(s). I do you hope you have other disks backing up that data. 

"There are two kinds of hard drive users. Those who've had a hard drive crash and those who've not had a hard drive crash YET."

Over the years I've had several hard drives crash and yes I've lost stuff. Here's what I now do:

I have a 4 TB drive that holds all of my images and many documents. I have a 2nd 4TB drive that I use to back up my first drive. I manually do this at least once a week or more often if I've done a lot of work.

I have a 3rd 4TB drive I use for Apple's Time Machine.

I also use a cloud service encase the house burns down. Am I paranoid? No, just a realist. In a worst case scenario, I would not lose much, at worse some time. 

[Note: the 4TB is entirely based on what I need. Your needs may demand or less hard drive space. Whatever you think you need, double it. Oh, the backup drives do not need to be SSDs or anything fancy or fast, just reliable. Do not use portable drives as they are not as robust as desktop drives. And be aware that your first backup will take a long time. Also look for backup software that can update your data as opposed to replacing your data. If you're on a Mac I can strongly recommend ChronoSync. If you're on a PC, I'm sure someone can make recommendations.]

I also support the reply by dj_paige. It was not abusive. 

I absolutely support the responses from DJ and Wobert.

I am an "avid hobbyist photographer" also, and Lightroom-Classic is the 'Tool' that supports my photography.

(My volunteer help with this Forum has earned me some benefit from Adobe, but I do not work for, or am employed, by Adobe)

To answer your concerns from my perspective-

The current version 10.3 (now called Lightroom-CLASSIC) is 'miles' ahead of your v4.5 in capability and editing results.

The subscription monthly fee (US$10.00) is a 'peanuts' for the incredible amount of software I have access to that includes-

Lightroom-Classic, Lightroom (for desktop), Photoshop, Bridge, Portfolio website, Lightroom-Mobile, Lightroom-web.

(Consider that Photoshop, alone, cost in the $thousands years ago, and you had to pay BIG to upgrade!) And it is updated regularly!

ON1 is not an alternative for everything you receive in the Photography Plan (20GB).

Your 3TB of photos can remain exactly where they are, on your disks. You do NOT have to upload them in the Cloud.

You never need to use Cloud services at all, except to download, install, and activate the software -in your computer system. You would simply 'open' your Catalog in the latest Lightroom-Classic v10.3, and carry on.

I am a 'Customer for Life'. I could not be more pleased with the what the Photography Plan provides.

A Plan subscription might be a 12month commitment, but you will not want to end it after you become acquainted with what is available.

Note: I am talking about Lightroom-CLASSIC!  (NOT the Cloud based Lightroom)

I think the 'Millions' of people worldwide that have taken on the 'Photography Plan' speaks for their "level of satisfaction".

$9.99 PHOTOGRAPHY PLAN (USA)

BUT and this is a huge BUT... The horror stories I have read about subscription cancelation abuses and ownership/access of my files, and the relentless monthly charges

I haven't heard any of this ... what are you talking about?

My experience with the Adobe Photography Plan (which is the subscription plan that includes Lightroom Classic) has been flawless. I get charged every month (which I agreed to), I can cancel the subscription if I so choose. I own my files and edits and metadata, even after the subscription ends, and so I don't consider myself a "customer for life", although at this time I have not the slightest urge to end my subscription.

I have about 3TB of photos that I keep on disk.  I really don't want to upload them all to the cloud and pay to maintain them

For Lightroom Classic, you don't have to upload a single file to the cloud. It is optional, it happens only if you specifically turn on the option to do so. Don't listen to the Adobe haters, who spread mis-information.

Honestly, I think your entire statement on the matter is nonsense, and the subscription works well and as it is supposed to. You have listened to the Adobe haters spreading mis-information; all of the terms of usage and terms of the subcription are spelled out in legal documents that you have to agree to (and should read carefully), which should count as the FACTS in this matter, even if some people on the internet say otherwise.