What is the History of Photoshop and its Origin

August 25, 2021
MD Ashraf Uddin Noyon
Apps & Software, Photoshop
0

Photoshop, is the most renowned photo-editing program for Raster format images. The program is quite rich with tools, adjustments, and options. The history of Photoshop shows that the journey started in 1988 and continues today. The latest version comes with more user-friendly features and advanced artificial intelligence.

The best part of Photoshop is, that Adobe updates the program in a continuous manner. All kinds of professional quality photo editing are handy with this. Well, all the features and options are very difficult to figure out if you are a new user.

However, Adobe Corporation comes up with a help center to make things understandable with examples. Also, Photoshop experts publish tutorial content and videos for assistance.

The Origin of Photoshop: The Inventor

If you’re interested in Photoshop, you should know that it was invented by two brothers, Thomas Knoll, and John Knoll are brothers from the same womb. Tomas was a student at the ‘University of Michigan doing a Ph.D. in 1987. –

Both brothers were interested in technology and art and were fascinated with the possibilities that early computers offered. Their father had an interest in photography and early computers, and their brothers inherited this passion.

Adobe eventually bought out its main competitor, Aldus, and Photoshop was born. Today, Adobe Photoshop is used by more people than any other program, so you should know the history of Photoshop before you buy it

Thomas Knoll and John Knoll Invented Photoshop

The photo-editing application Photoshop was developed by computer scientist Thomas Knoll and his brother John, Who later sold the distribution license to Adobe Systems. Originally developed in 1987, Photoshop has since become the industry standard for image editing.

In 1988, the Knolls sold the image processing engine to Adobe but did not publicly release a demo. Thomas Knoll, who had a passion for photography, was particularly keen on the subject. He once set up his own darkroom in his basement where he worked on his photographs. This inspired him to develop a computer program for the task. Photoshop 1.0 was released in February 1990.

Photoshop Gained Popularity

Originally created by Thomas Knoll, the software quickly gained popularity among photographers. The Knolls’ father was a college professor who had an interest in technology and brought home a computer called an Apple II Plus for a research project.

The brothers had both used Photoshop before the software was officially released, and they both enjoyed it. But some of the innovations in the program, which still uses their original Sobel Edge Technique, have surprised them, too.

The two brothers were inspired by special effects seen in movies. They aimed to make digital image editing software available to as many people as possible. They sold the distribution rights to Adobe Systems Incorporated.

The program name was ImagePro in the beginning. But, as the copyright was of another company, they named it ‘PhotoshopOffsite Link’. They also had a deal with Barneyscan, who was a scanner manufacturer for the distribution of the program. And, this arrangement returns with 200 copies shipment of Photoshop.

Adobe Corporation purchased the distribution license after the demonstration by John Knoll. Apple and Adobe higher officials were present there in San Jose. Well, after that, Adobe released the first version of Photoshop for the Macintosh named ‘Photoshop 1.0’. History states Photoshop is the king of all photo editing programs for Raster graphics manipulation.

History of Photoshop

Describing the whole history may require millions of words. So, we will go with a short history of Adobe Photoshop for the time being. The older versions of this amazing program were also enough advanced according to that period. And, at that time no other program was at the level or even close to this. Still, Photoshop is holding the top position in photo editing programs.

Older Versions of Photoshop

Starting from the year 1990 to 2003, Photoshop had several versions containing numbers. Photoshop version 8.0 brings Creative Suite (CS) branding that comes in the pack in 2003. But, before that Photoshop came in with seven different versions for users.

Well, Photoshop version history shows that CS is the version from when Photoshop moved forward at a full pace. And, the versions that they launched, all are not on the hit list. Some of them are;

Version 0.07 (code name “Bond” following British hero)
Photoshop Version 0.87 (Code name “Seurat” the first commercial version)
Version 1.0 (Published in February 1990)

Later Versions of Photoshop

The previous versions are being developed with tools and options step by step. The most useful tool came is the Pen Tool which brought revolutionary addition to photo subject selection and isolation. Also, Filter, Virtual Memory, Color Separation, CMYK color, and many more came with the version updates.

And, the file format support and saving are also enhanced in time. Furthermore, the latest version contains enough advanced tools and features you just can imagine.

CS (Version 8)

The first Creative Suite version got released in October 2003.

CS2 (Version 9)

Creative Suite, the second version released in May 2005 approximately after 2 years of CS. The addition of the Smart Object is the specialty of this version.

CS3 (Version 10)

April 2007 was the time of CS3 of Photoshop release. A large number of tools, options, and advantages came with this version that took Photoshop to another level. Also, it came with the support of Windows PCs and MAC both.

CS4 (Version 11)

The release date of the CS4 version was October 15, 2008. The 3D engine is the specialty of this version to convert gradient maps to three-dimensional views. Also, this is the first 64-bit version for the same standard processor.

CS5 (Version 12)

The day April 12, 2010, was the release date of the CS5 version which is Photoshop version 12. CS5.5 version got released in May 2011 with some new versions of applications. Among other features, 3D and video features are mentionable for creating motion graphics.

CS6 (Version 13)

The most used and professional photo editors’ favorite is the CS6 version. The addition of the Content-Aware tool was introduced in CS6. A later update of version 13.1.3 comes with Windows XP Professional x64 Edition support.

The release time was May 2012. 25 times undone in Photoshop CS6 first introduced in Adobe Photoshop history. Photoshop CS6 has been updated with smart features to explore the image editing career.

CC (Version 14)

Adobe Corporation launched the first Creative Cloud version on June 18, 2013. A revolutionary change took place with the tools, features, and functions that came with this. Adobe Camera RAW version 8 came added with this one. Two updates came from Adobe for this version. One is on September 9, 2013, and another on January 15, 2014.

CC 2014 (Version 15)

June 18, 2014, was the release date of CC 2014 after the CC version. Well, from this version, Adobe included the year with the Creative Cloud versions. Here, Adobe added Spin Blur and Path Blur in the blur option that is focusing.

CC 2015 (Version 16 and Version 17)

Adobe released CC 2015 version on June 15, 2015, with more creative features. You can call this version 16 according to the record. Adobe Stock contains a free photo library. You can have ten-layer styles in this version instead of one like the previous versions.

Adobe gave a UI update on November 30, 2015, with a more organized and appealing look. Also, it came with smart gestures for touch-sensitive devices like Microsoft Surface Pro. And, this updated one is version 17 considering additional features. Another mentionable part of Photoshop history is, the release year is the 25 anniversary of Photoshop.

CC 2017 (Version 18)

Photoshop CC 2017 came with a new template selector on November 2, 2016. The template is to create new documents. Also, search for tools, help articles, panels, SVG Open Type fonts support, and some more improvements came in-build. Also, Adobe gave updates on MacBook Pro Touch Bar support in December 2016.

CC 2018 (Version 19)

The revolutionary version of Photoshop CC 2018 got released on October 18, 2017. One of the additional features is brush stroke smoothing and over 1000 brushes in the pack. Also, you can categorize them into folders and sub-folders.

Also, you will see the Curvature Pen added to the Pen Tool panel. Masking, selection, image resizing, and many performance improvements came with this amazing version.

CC 2019 (Version 20)

October 15, 2018, is the day when an updated version came with the name Photoshop CC 2019. Well, this is not as revolutionary as CC 2018 but came with 20 new features that are truly remarkable. Also, you can experience multiple undo in Photoshop CC 2019 by using Ctrl/Command+Z for Win/MAC.

2020 (Version 21)

Adobe Corporation released version 2020 on November 4, 2019, with many enhanced features. According to Photoshop versions, it is in the 21st place. Complex selection with artificial intelligence, better transform warp, and many useful ones are here. An updated version came in February 2020.

Here, the Content-Aware fill is not always necessary because of the iteratively fill option. And, the program is compatible with MAC, iPad, and Windows with cloud features. Also, Adobe released another update in June 2020 with more improvements.

2021 (Version 22) Released on August 17, 2021

The latest version of Photoshop 2021 got released on August 17, 2021. Before that, the beta version was released around June 2021. A lot of automated features such as selection, subject impression, spacing, etc. came all together. Also, the loading is faster than the previous versions as well as the operation and preview.

Of course, Adobe Corporation brings all the advanced features in this till today. And, they are truly amazing. Except for professional quality photo editing, anyone can be an editor. We are looking forward to more features that will come with the later versions of Photoshop.

How Adobe Bought Out Its Main Competitor – Aldus

A few months ago, Adobe Systems Inc. completed a $450 million buyout of Aldus Corp., the fourth-largest maker of personal computer software and a pioneer in electronic publishing programs.

The deal was approved by shareholders in March, and Aldus will continue to operate under the Adobe brand and maintain a large Seattle office. As a result of the acquisition, Adobe will eliminate approximately 400 jobs, most of them in sales, marketing, and finance.

Aldus’s main competitors also produced software such as an electronic document interchange (EDI) program called Adobe Acrobat, a typesetting program called Illustrator, and a design language called PostScript. These programs have since been adopted as the industry standard for page description language.

While Adobe had already been a huge player in the professional market, it wanted to expand its consumer reach. Aldus, a software developer focused on business-grade tools, was looking to expand into the consumer market.

The Aldus team, meanwhile, had been working on revenue-generating tools for consumers. Ultimately, they were successful in making Adobe the fifth-largest software company in the world.

Flexibility In Using Tools and Layers

History of Photoshop Recurring tools

Photoshop has a number of recurring tools that are used frequently in different tasks. The Hand Tool, for example, is used to move a portion of an image. It lets you avoid accidentally dragging around an object. The Zoom Tool, on the other hand, helps you zoom in and out of an image. This tool works by dragging a selection.

The Patch Tool is another recurring tool that allows you to edit selected areas in an image. It works similarly to the Lasso Tool, and you can drag your selection to a new location. This will automatically patch the area with the content of the selection.

The Content-Aware Move Tool will intelligently fill in areas that you have moved. For example, if you drag a rowboat across a beach, Photoshop will automatically fill in the sand in the background. Lastly, the Red Eye Tool allows you to click an area with a red eye to remove it instantly.

The Clone Stamp is a powerful tool that enables you to copy the exact detail from one part of an image onto another. By painting with the existing pixels, Clone Stamp edits are often used by digital photographers and graphic designers to fix or hide certain parts of an image.

History of Photoshop Layers

If you want to save changes to your image, you may be interested in the History of layers in Photoshop. You can do this in a couple of ways. First, you can assign a shortcut to undo/redo to Ctrl+Z. Second, you can use the History Palette to undo multiple states of the same image.

The history palette isn’t a straightforward tool, though. You can customize how many steps the History palette stores for any one layer.

In 1994, Thomas Knoll added a feature called layers to Photoshop, which let designers edit images separately. With layers, designers could change the subject or background separately.

The History of layers in Photoshop is an essential feature of every image editor. But what is it and why are they so useful? This article will give you an overview of how layers work. In Photoshop, the history of layers is important for creating a beautiful and appealing photo. You can also crop a layer with simple few steps.

A dedicated team at Adobe Systems worked on the development of Photoshop. These early developers were mostly photographers. This group of programmers incorporated layers and masks in its 1.0 release.

Ultimately, layers are an essential part of Photoshop’s power. It has changed the way people edit images. Nowadays, layers and masks can create complex images. Using layers in Photoshop can create amazing works of art. You can also see how layers and masks have changed the course of digital photography.

Actions of Photoshop

When you perform edits in Photoshop, you can turn on or off the History of actions, which allows you to go back and review past actions and save them as a history log.

The History log contains the complete history of every action you perform on an image. It will show you everything you changed in Photoshop, including the settings you used and the locations of the files. The History log is also handy for time tracking, legal records, and training. It works similarly in other versions of CS.

If you don’t need a history of your actions, you can edit them later. The history of actions in Photoshop lets you edit them later if you want to make any changes. Actions are saved only when you quit Photoshop. Therefore, if you crash or restart Photoshop, you will lose them.

The following steps will help you create a photo history and learn more about how to use Photoshop. You can also read about some useful tips on how to use the Actions palette..

Role of Photoshop

Whether you need to modify an image or enhance a visual impression Photoshop is the name that comes first. The history of Adobe Photoshop proves that the use of this program is too high for professionals. Otherwise, Adobe Corporation may not have published so many improved versions.

Photographic presentations act the most important in this digital era. No image can get its appeal without a polished look. eCommerce marketplace is highly competitive and product images should have that look. Also, editing by Photoshop is highly effective for portraits and fashion industries.

And, personal image modification is a common thing that we can do with this program. Clipping path service providers use this program for the highest satisfaction. So, everywhere you need photo or image enhancements, Photoshop is the best software you can use.

Conclusion

The history of Photoshop versions that we have discussed is in brief actually. You can learn more about it from Wikipedia or from their website. However, the best program does not need a proper introduction.

If you ask for a suggestion from a professional photo editor, you will know that Photoshop is the one. And, the status came with a long-term evaluation and moving forward day by day. The latest version contains enough advanced features already. And, upcoming ones should have something more for sure.

FAQ

When was Photoshop created?

Ans: 1990 is the year when Photoshop got released for the first time. Well, Thomas & John Knoll developed it in 1987 and sold the distribution license to Adobe in 1988. And, that time, the two brothers named it “PhotoshopOffsite Link”.