Adobe celebrates 35 years of Photoshop with new series

Adobe has announced a series of celebrations to mark the 35th anniversary of Photoshop, its renowned digital imaging software.

This milestone is being commemorated with the launch of a new series featuring stories from professional photographers and designers, led by Adobe's Sr. Principal Designer, Russel Preston Brown. Russell, who has been with Adobe for four decades, will host these discussions, beginning with an episode featuring Joel Grimes, a celebrated photographer recognised as both a Canon Legend Photographer and a Top Pro Elite photographer by FJ Westcott.

In addition to the series, Adobe has published blog posts celebrating significant milestones in Photoshop's development. Among these are posts detailing how photographer Holly Rose Stones uses Photoshop for its therapeutic qualities in portrait art, as well as Bella Kotak's creation of unique floral portrait fantasies.

Reflecting on its history, Adobe reiterates how Photoshop 1.0, launched in 1990, revolutionised digital image editing. Initially developed by Thomas and John Knoll, Photoshop provided photographers with new tools and capabilities, eventually becoming integral in various creative workflows.

The software's early applications in Hollywood are notable, with its involvement in the visual effects for the film "The Abyss" in 1989, and later in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." These early ventures highlighted Photoshop's potential for groundbreaking visual effects.

In 1994, the introduction of the Layers feature marked a significant advancement, allowing independent manipulation of image elements. A year later, non-destructive editing tools, including Adjustment Layers, Blend Modes, and Layer Masks, further refined image editing processes.

By the late 1990s, with the release of Photoshop 5.0, the software had become a household name, widely used across advertising, print media, and emerging online platforms. Features like the History Panel and Layer Effects contributed to its mainstream adoption.

Throughout the 2000s, Adobe continued to innovate with the launch of tools such as the Liquify Filter in 2001 and the Healing Brush Tool in 2002. The inclusion of Adobe Camera Raw in 2003 further streamlined photography workflows, while the 2010 release of Content-Aware Fill offered sophisticated options for object replacement in images.

Recognising its contributions to the film industry, Photoshop received a Technical Oscar in 2018. That same year, the Select Subject feature, utilising machine learning, made complex selections simpler for users.

In recent years, Adobe has extended Photoshop's reach, introducing applications for iPad in 2019 and, more recently, a web-based version in 2023, aimed at making the software more accessible to new users. The launch of Generative Fill powered by Adobe Firefly represents the latest development in its suite of generative capabilities.

The company remains committed to advancing Photoshop's capabilities and supporting its community of creators. Adobe encourages users to share their early Photoshop creations on social media, tagging @Photoshop to join the anniversary celebrations.