This time around Blake and Matt get together to chat about the topic of Adobe Generative Credits and some of the confusion (and even resentment) the whole concept is starting to cause.
Keep in mind a podcast is for a certain type or person. For me, I only listen to them when I’m driving, but they’re longer formats and definitely more discussion based. If that’s not you, I did post a quick 5 minute read on the topic. It’s not as interesting as the podcast, but you’ll get the idea if you’re the type that would rather read. (Click Here)
Enjoy!
How to Listen/Watch
You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google. Or you can watch it below.
The podcast is NOT intended to be visual in any way, so all you’re doing is watching the two of us talk and nothing else. But if that’s the way you prefer it, feel free. Personally, podcasts are something I listen to when I have nothing else to do, or to keep me busy while doing something else – so I never watch them.
Apple Podcast Link (Click Here)
Spotify Podcast Link (Click Here)
Google Podcasts Link (Click Here)
PRO TIP: I typically listen to podcasts on my phone while driving or in the gym. And I usually set most podcasts to 1.25x – 1.5x speed to get through it faster.
Since this IS NOT A TRAINING tutorial, and it’s just us talking, I think you can speed us up and get through it faster so feel free to give it a try. I can’t help you find that setting, but again… most podcast apps have it, so poke around. If you can use Lightroom and Photoshop I have no doubt you can figure out how to use a podcast app ?
I love teaching and photography... In that order. I feel that enjoying photography, and photo editing can get WAY too complicated. So my personal mission (and favorite thing to do), is to create education that simplifies the process of taking great photos, and how to edit them to get the results you’ve always wanted.
Very good. Who knew?
My thought is we have only rang the doorbell on AI, the door has not really been opened yet. This is going to be a technology that is very open ended and the goods and the bads have not yet been seen. I have been using PS since 1998. ACR was a $99 plug-in. So, what. Point is the changes in this software has been huge as you know. We have been told for years about creditability and authenticity. Now with the AI features these two things have a different appearance.
I use Adobe LR, ACR and PS only. I am 79 and am not going to go learn a new platform of software, On1 or whatever. I would guess I am not alone in that thinking. I have the original Photography subscription option and the new yearly payment. Do I use AI? Ya, not a lot. Remove distractions is good stuff. I have done some of the select subject, inverse and new background. New tricks, old dog. I am learning.
Adobe is a powerful and prosperous corporation. they take good care of their users. But let’s remember they are publicly traded stock and bottom line is their assigned target. Profit is one of the main reasons they get up in the morning. I am OK with that. Your point of being transparent is spot on. I know exactly what a gallon of gas cost me. If I buy 10 gallons or 15, I know what the bill will be.
Make all this AI crap simple plain English. Do this, cost this. Simple.
I use Topaz and NIK. I pay for them. Adobe needs to leave that stuff out of the PS, LR platform. You want it, go subscribe to it. Or buy Topaz and make it your own.
They surely have the people, process and ability to simply make this easy. If not, then hire. You and Blake have a large following for a good reason. I have done F64 stuff over the years. I have stopped. Age? Maybe. I am able to stumble around PS and get stuff done. Could I be better? Sure.
Adobe is where I work, only. They need to realize I am just one of a whole bunch of folks. Been a pro-shooter, ran a wide format color printing and service bureau. Process images of every form, quality and size, yuk. PS is the only platform.
Your input and explanation are spot on. Keep it up. Hopefully Adobe pays attention. Simple straight forward truth is always the best. Adobe, make it simple, listen to these two guys.
I really enjoyed this video. It is nice to see both of you gentlemen looking after your customer’s best interest. I have wondered many times how many credits I have and how many I am using. I am strictly an amateur photographer, and I am not adjusting thousands of photos monthly. Some months I may only use Photoshop on a couple dozen photos. I enjoy the editing process and appreciate great photos. My use consists of bettering my own work…not generating something that I didn’t do on my own with my camera. Photography is such a beautifully creative hobby that improving what I have done or maximizing my shots, to me, is just another part of being creative. This is the reason I have watched and followed both of you for so many years. Thanks for stepping up for the photo community and asking the questions that most of us have wondered about but haven’t been able to find the answers to.
I’m on board with the rolling over of unused credits into following month.
Also, Share the number of points for the ‘Cost’ of selection and my current balance. Seeing a clear picture of my credit usage and balance would help me decide whether to use them or go back to the old ways.
Thanks for putting together this podcast and bringing this issue to light.
If phone companies can rollover data, then Adobe can rollover credits
Thank you So much Blake Rudis and Matt K. As a former user experience consultant you hit the nail on the head about trust, the user experience and transparency. Photography as a senior is a very important hobby for me…..but now i worry about the slot machine costs.
Thank you to both of you for starting this conversation. Yes, generative credits should roll over,
Thanks Blake and Matt…I had no idea Adobe were going to be charging for all these AI features. You two are educators and know where to look for information ….I have been using Abobe for a very long time. Adboe you need to be upfront when you are making these very big changes. Thanks Blake and Matt.
Great discussion. Thanks.
Adobe partnering with Topaz and charging credits. How will Photoshop handle the fact that a lot of us also ‘subscribe’ to Topaz software? Will we still have to export to the add-on then import back to Photoshop?
I have yet to use Generative AI credits. I agree though that any leftover credits from one billing period should be rolled over into the next billing period. Good presentation.
Thanks so much for this very helpful video. Like so many others who’ve left comments, I’m a hobbiest and have used Lr and PS for years. While I’ve known about the credits, I am clueless as to how many credits I have, and how many credits I’ve used. I guess I’ve never used enough since I haven’t had a message that I have to pay more to get more credits. I hope Adobe listened to your video because I totally agree about the importance of transparency as well as rolling over unused credits to the following month. BTW…I also have Topaz software and never noticed the credits used. I’ll look for it the next time I use their software.
My first reaction, as a hobbyist, to the change was whether I have to consider looking for another program as a failsafe move for selfish reasons. Listening to your call for ‘Transparency’ is appreciated especially because I see it as educators promoting advocacy for the end users; many of whom I imagine whose loyalty may be tied to the limit of the amount of their willingness to pay. Thank you.
Thanks guys for bringing this to the forefront. Was not aware of it at all. As a “Amateur” but a very long Adobe user, this does make my decision to try another editing software easy. I know most options won’t have the bells and whistles that Adobe brings to the table but there is a lot out there from Free to a one time lifetime charge that is very capable. Even Apple Photos now has excellent global editing software and it is free with your computer, and with their acquisition of Photomater it won’t be long before that is also part of their eco system. When I received my email from Adobe telling me my basic plan is going from 9.99-15.99/month Thought hard about whether I wanted to continue. After watching the Adobe Photoshop recent courses for five days it made me realize how many things in PS/ACR I really don’t use or need in my work flow. So I guess I’ll use my Netflix raised prices strategy – Adios. There comes a time it aint worth it.
Matt & Blake – thank you for this podcast, you have hit the nail on the head, I am one who like to know what I am paying when I use something like Generative Credits and have no clue what I have, why i have only 250 credits while other on the grandfathered Photography plan get more. I don’t know when and what I am using. I also have Topaz Photo AI and you are so right Matt, topaz tell me how many credits i have and when i am using them and why. I like the both of you love PS, and the lessons I have learned from f64 and you Matt are why I love PS. I also agree that they should roll over for the subscription year. great podcast. Thank you so much for being a voice in the wilderness for those of us who have no clue have Generative credits work within PS. PS needs to be more transparent as you said, When you can’t find the cost of a plan both dollar wise and number of credits so you can compare then, Just trying to navigate through all the gibberish you get when you search for a lucid answer is tiring. Enough of my rant. Will continue to use PS but will be very wary of any of the AI functionality and try to find out what i am using by doing some experimenting…..
I am in total agreement. Even when I look for my generative credits I swear I can’t find it the second time. It makes my head explode. And…….I didn’t know that harmonzie used a credit. Now I am ticked off. Adobe is my software of choice and I am happy to pay for the subscription but you are right, there should be something in the corner telling you how many credits you have and something telling the user how much it will cost. Great podcast.
Thank you for this video podcast. I didn’t even know how much Adobe and Topaz have joined in terms of AI features. The biggest takeaway from all of this is that I can no longer take anything for granted. At least Topaz Photo tells you how many credits I have. I’m not sure how many credits are used, though, whenever I edit something in their software. I’ve yet to see any information upfront about how many credits I have in Photoshop when using Generative AI. From now on, part of my workflow will be to research before I even begin editing RAW photos.
Very interesting for me as I am on a three months rehab at the age of 91 and cannot use Ps with or with0out or without the AI . Rolling over the credits and transparency of charging may decide my future relation with Adobe.
Thank you for the excellent discussion. I am a profound Adobe follower and wouldn’t want to stop using their products. However they should make client-focus a priority. Credits passover to the following month should be normal. One should be able to use unlimited standard credits on premium features, so as to get used to these.
It seems like world politics and greed are influencing the way corporations are calling the shots. They don’t care what you need, AI is the thing and consumers will have to pay for the investment (look at the new Adobe pricing, look at the new Topaz Labs subscriptions). We are the investors now.
What I have never seen is the cost per credit if you go over the amount of credits you have been assigned according to your plan. What is the value of one credit? There must be a value for Adobe to determine how many credits you are allotted for each plan.
I totally agree with your chat. Also Adobe shouldn’t have made people difficult to switch their monthly Photography membership to the yearly-based one. I know many people who didn’t succeed to do this. I had to contact support to make the switch for me. Especially in the non-English community people refrained to contact the support as it is English-speaking only. So they stopped their current month-based membership and started the year-based Photography membership, but that was at 150% of the announced price. Adobe should have avoided this by including a “working” one-click solution, because now they have many users that are discontent. Many don’t even use PhotoShop, but hope to learn it in the future. So they pay too much for 2 reasons at once.
In the meantime, Topaz Labs managed to force us in a subscription plan for $33/month for a bunch of products that do not even are about photography anymore. Even the Photo (AI) only subscription plan has sky-rocketed.
I was even reading my available credits in my profile the wrong way… I assumed blue meant used, but it is NOT USED.
So… they should make it red, everybody knows red is wrong 😉
Sorry Englisch is not my native language. Dutch.
My monthly bill just went up by 50% if I have to start paying even more for credits it will be the end of it for me.
I am a hobbyist and on a pension so money has alway been a factor. Also a lot of the time I am not happy with what has been generated so losing credits for nothing. Thanks for the chat lads.
I love Adobe and have used Photoshop for over 10 years now. The Ai features are all very helpful and speed up things when processing, but, I agree with both of you in sayin that it is quite secretive in the way we are being charged. Nothing is clear. We do need to have a clear indication of how many credits we have at all times. Plus, when using the new technology, how much if we use it we are going to be charged. Then we have the choice to either use that or conventionally use what we have been using in the past.
Some of my tools in Ai I cannot get to work, e.g. the remove reflections in camera RAW being one of them.
Adobe certainly need to be much clearer on their pricing.
I also agree what you say about rolling over the credits not used one month to the next as they have been paid for.
Thank you guy’s for making this podcast and highlighting this problem. Let’s hope that Adobe takes notice.
Some partner applications are already payed for. Using them in Lightroom or Photoshop may collect extra pennies. Or, ARE THEY GOING TO BE RECOGNIZED if we log in to Topaz (for example)? Or, it will be less expensive at Adobe?
Great video ! Maybe explain where someone could find the credits .
Thank you. I’m glad to see I am not the only confused person. I too got cut off by Gemini mid project and still don’t know how I could buy a few credits to get a few more generations. I am a hobbyist on the basic photography plan.
Umesh Dinda from Piximperfect had a recent video on this topic that arrived at the same result, please put in a counter so you know what you have and know how much it costs. Can you imagine going to a bakery with $5 and seeing that a meat pie, (I’m in Australia) depending on ingredients, could cost you between $4 and $7 but they are not labeled and your choice is final. Transparency is an act of good faith and should be a priority for Adobe to address, like other companies have done.
I use the remove tool and use their selections. I use DXO Pure RAW for noise and an old Sharpen program from Topaz for occasional deblurring, so I guess I use AI. If however these became an ongoing cost then I would seek an alternative solution.
how do we know that providing crap ai result is not part of the adobe plan to get you to spend more credits?
Great chat guys, thank you.
Great conversation guys! Totally agree with the need for more transparency on credits.
EXCELLENT INFO. CLEARED UP STUFF FOR ME.
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Great podcast.
I am in the “I don’t need” gen fill, AI partnerships etc. camp.I bought DXO Pure Raw to fix noisy images, I use Nik Collection periodically but for the most part I stick to ACR and PS. A couple of amazing instructors have made me very comfortable in PS lol.
It seems like Adobe is moving backwards in some areas, one being the removal tool; it more frequently leaves its signature checkerboard pattern. I find myself using content aware fill, the patch tool, spot healing brush and the dreaded clone stamp tool more and more lately.
However the selections have risen immensely in usability and reliability.
I am a retired graphic/web designer. I enjoy design and editing my photos now as a “hobbyist”. But this whole thing is getting too rich for my blood. Add the price of your camera, lenses, software etc. and now AI credits, I ask how can I keep this going? So far for AI, I patchwork Midjourney, Google AI and Adobe using each to fill in holes. I am not an Adobe basher but I am keeping my eye open for something like Affinity AI to come along. Right now Canva is not very good but I like Affinity’s pricing policies. Thanks for your take on the situation.
Now I’m wondering whether the number of credits I get with my pay-annually Photography plan will be different than what I had with my annual-but-paid-monthly Photography plan. I changed because the monthly fee was going to increase by 40% (!) and only found out there was a less expensive option through a FaceBook post by another hobbyist. There was no information I could find about this less expensive option on Adobe’s website. Sounds similar to the credit game.
And yes with respect to the rollover. My photo-editing tends to go in waves, nothing for a few months then I dive in during the dark rainy months.
U guys are the best!
One more thing to consider, I to have the photography plan. I really don’t use all of my credits each month. I don’t know why you have to have premium credits to use some of the AI features. For example, If I want to use the Google generative AI and it costs x number of premium credits then why can’t I use my regular credits even if they charge me a few more credits because I don’t have a premium plan. Just charge me more of the type of credits I have! I’m not a professional photographer so I don’t make any money taking photos. I just share my photos on social media or within the camera club that I belong to. It is starting to become cost prohibitive to use all the features in Photoshop.
Adobe like other companies want and need to make money. We as users have to pay, don’t use the thing that adds to the subscription, or use some other company. I am using Luminar Neo more and more, but they can’t let me do all that LR or PS does, and Luminar cost’s me also. At least I know how much Luminar will cost me. [at least at the present]. Us users are being led into a web of pay up or drop out.
thank you, I thought I was on my own in feeling like I was being burnt.
Thank you. Being up front is a very good idea. Putting the credits on each tool that uses AI is a very good idea. If I had a per person charge for a wedding but didn’t tell the wedding party they would go nuts.
As a photographer who is mostly a hobbyist, I’m not generating a lot of AI stuff. But having been a wedding photographer in the past, I think if I were using gen fill, or needed to use it in a wedding photography business today I would clearly state an estimated cost of using gen fill credits in the contract. I can certainly see, just from looking at Adobe’s Generative credits FAQ page, that yes, it can certainly be confusing on how many chips I have to use on the gen fill slot machine. Here’s Adobe’s FAQ page: https://tinyurl.com/3b6cwj92
Thanks, guys for the discussion. I’m a hobbyist and this Adobe credit issue seems way more than I want and/or am willing to spend time learning. Prior to this podcast I went to the website and was totally confused. It was hard to figure out what plan I had and what the heck my credits would be used for and how much the things I was interested in would cost. Are they going to charge for the basic AI stuff I’ve been using or new more complex options? Have they been charging and I didn’t know it cuz I didn’t exceed my credits that I didn’t know I had? Will the generative remove tool and other AI tools in Lightroom start costing, too? I agree that if their goal was not a money grab but rather a way to provide the most current tools to the user, then their marketing team has done a sorry job and left the user feeling bamboozled. While the pro users will adapt or retreat to other products, I can’t help but think that the hobbyist market is a big player in the number of users Adobe has and may lose in this latest botched program “enhancement”.
Agree that Adobe needs to be transparent about credits. I’ve been trying to figure out which plan to use, and I’m baffled. I’ve been a LR and PS user for many years – CS 3 days and the launch of LR. Which AI product is affecting which tools and how much does it cost per use? That information would be most helpful.
Thanks Matt & Blake for doing this video. I’m glad to find out I am not the only one that’s confused on Adobe AI credits costs
Yes to the rollover!
well balanced debate and entertaing too. Excellent format.
as a hobbyist – I can buy more credits but they expire at the end of the month – no rollover – 2000 credits might last me 3,4 or 6 months, so I am stuck
I like your point of view, that what is needed is simply transparency from Adobe. It is possible, if not likely, that there is such an urgency to get the AI function out for the big fall releases that the bit of putting the credit information up front and center whenever we are about to use some just didn’t get the priority it should have.
Thank you for discussing this. Good information for us and for Adobe.
Great discussion guys but . . . You missed the most important part – use examples as you talk on all of these points. We are all visual people and pictures would save you a thousand words for each of your points. Thanks for starting this discussion.
Great podcast guys. I agree with all of your discussions. I love Adobe too, but would really like to see them advise us as to how many credits we have, and also agree that the credits should roll over to the next month. Thank you and I hope Adobe listens to this podcast also.
Unfortunately, you are probably correct many of the features we use like noise reduction, sharpening, and I bet you the AI removal tool is going to be credit based.
Thanks for this and I hope Adobe “gets it”.
I signed up for the Virtual Summit and I watched 35 out of the 45 or so classes and I learned a lot. However, at the end I was totally baffled that Adobe had not figured this out before hand. Frankly, it was embarrassing for Dave Cross. Like you, Blake, I got two pulls on the lever and then was asked to upgrade. Really?
This should not be technically challenging to do, so it must a bad business decision.
Thank you so much for this video! I am a hobbyist who has been using Photoshop for many years. After viewing several educator videos about the latest updates to Photoshop for 2026, which did not reference credits, I was surprised to find out that generating images with the partner models would use many more credits. I had to search extensively to discover how many credits I would use with my current plan. I felt misled and for now have decided not to upgrade my plan to add additional credits. I hope that Adobe pays attention to your request for transparency.
Great presentation. Thanks for taking the time to make it easier to understand the credits.
Wonderful video. I am a hobbyist and have experienced the same frustrations as you. Until now I thought that I was perhaps the only one having to spend way too much time trying to figure out what was going on with the credits, hopping all over the Adobe website. Blake, I experienced the same thoughts when I used Gemini as a Photoshop partner. I learned about this feature during the recent virtual summit but I don’t remember being told there were only several free uses. In the middle of working on an image where I had invested much time, I was suddenly told my free use was used up. I tried to finish the work in Firefly but found it to be very inadequate. To work around the problems that arose when I tried to change the clothes of 4 different people (using my uploaded reference image for each person) was too time consuming using clone stamp and the old tools to fix many problems. Gemini did the job on two other people instantly. I felt like I was Bert Monroy doing Times Square. Thank you very much for publicly expressing your views.
Thank you so much for this! I’m a hobbyist who has been using PS for many years. After viewing several educator videos about the latest updates referencing the addition of AI partner models, which had no mention of credits, I was surprised to realize that the premium models charged so many credits for each generation. I had to search extensively before I found out how many credits I would use for editing various photos with my plan. I felt that I was misled and I have elected not to upgrade my plan to increase the amount of credits. I hope Adobe pays attention to your message and becomes more transparent.
Thank you for this. I had no idea. I have been playing around with it and didn’t know I could get charged for it.
What if you own Topaz? You are paying for it twice if you use a partner model.
Yup.
This was very interesting, but I watched it because I was hoping you would tell me how many credits are used for different operations. Maybe that’s not possible.
On some, yes, but that was Matt’s main point that some say “Varies” and you dont know until you try it and then look to see your account has been reduced by the “variable” credits. Firefly is always 1 token, partner models can be as low as 5-20, but then Varies kicks in, and again, you dont know until you’ve used the credits.