Apple recently announced its first true competitor to Adobe Creative Cloud, the new Creator Studio. Creator Studio is a new subscription bundle that takes Apple’s existing creative suite – Apple’s Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and Main Stage – and makes them available under a single subscription. The subscription model that’s become a bane to most working creatives has now come for Apple’s walled garden of editing apps. If that alone isn’t enough to infuriate you, look a little closer – you’ll notice that Apple has completely forgotten photographers in its Creator Studio.
What Constitutes a Creator
Apple’s new Creator Studio is, at its core, a direct response to Adobe’s Creative Cloud Suite. Apple is clearly trying to woo video-centric content creators, podcasters, and home studio enthusiasts with all the tools they might need to launch a YouTube channel, build a TikTok following, or launch a new SoundCloud music career. I’ve used Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro (and to a lesser extent, Main Stage) in the past, and I find both to be very capable editing tools – even worth owning if that’s something you do. But my biggest gripe with this announcement continues to be Apple’s erasure of photographers – or, at the very least, its unwillingness to recognize photography as creative work that requires professional-grade tools.
The value proposition is clear: don’t spend $200 for a video editing tool, another $200 for a professional music DAW, another $50 for a graphic design tool, and so on; instead, Apple is hoping you’ll be willing to pay $30/month for everything – even the things you’ll never use. Not to be overly cynical, but this is the sad state of tools for working artists: we’ll flood you with “choices” in hopes you’ll give up outright ownership. Apple, to its credit, does offer a heavily discounted option for students and educators – the full suite for only $3/month (which might be worth it if you can swing it). But if you look, there’s never been a replacement that addresses photographers’ needs. Instead, Apple has demonstrated that Photos is the extent of the support they’ll provide to photographers. And if that’s not good enough for you, then you’re free to go elsewhere.
Apple’s History with Photographers: It’s Complicated
In 2012, I purchased my first brand-new MacBook Pro. At this stage in my life, I had a boring day job, a relatively successful music career selling instrumentals for local hip-hop acts, and a budding side job as a photographer. The latter of which was the driving force behind my decision to purchase Apple’s Aperture for my computer. For those who might not remember, Aperture was Apple’s answer to Photoshop and Lightroom. It was a fully fleshed-out, professional photo editing tool on par with Adobe’s offerings and with just as much industry support, but it cost under $100 for a lifetime license. I remember working with the application back in the day and really appreciating not just what it was capable of (in 2012-2013, when I made my purchase, Aperture 3 had Face detection/facial recognition, the ability to geotag locations, as well as sort and catalog using this data), but the clean and user-friendly interface. Without exaggeration, I recall thinking that this was the future.
Sadly, when Apple switched from 32-bit to 64-bit architecture, Aperture was quietly killed off. There was no send-off, no replacement, and no explanation. Apple had, in effect, decided that the photography community was not worth investing in and gladly gave up its market share to Adobe. At the time, Apple issued a half-hearted statement that the new Photos app would do all that Aperture could, in a more streamlined, consumer-friendly package. Except it wasn’t.
Dear Apple, Photographers Exist
I’m not naïve. I understand how marketing and marketing budgets work, and the “bang-for-the-buck” lies in a creative professional who can deliver images, video, and social media copy. Apple has enjoyed the benefits of appealing to working creative professionals – we not only buy the company’s computers but have also lent our credibility to their ecosystem and their products. It’s about time that Apple either acknowledges our needs as photographers or stops using our work and our reputation to sell their wares.
In my experience, photographers are creatures of habit. We know what works for us, we have our tools, and we stick with them. I guess that’s why I still use an Apple computer; it is still one of the best computers per dollar for my needs, but there’s no way I will turn around and keep propping up their software arm with empty promises of what may come next. No, I’ll just keep using Capture One and keep it pushing.