Using Linux for Photography

As many of you may know, I do professional commercial and studio photography through my business K2 Photo Studio. Currently I've been using OS X on Apple hardware as my workflow method of choice. Simply put, using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Bridge, and the OS X color management is essential to my image workflow.

Here's an image I shot for Sublime Fashion's product catalog.

When working with clients like Sublime Fashion, accurate reproduction of color is extremely important. This is an example of where the OS X workflow cannot be beat. Or can it?

I am a Linux lover from way back. The advantages are that the operating system and most software is available for free. I used Linux long before I used OS X, and it really was my operating system of choice. It has the stability of OS X. It can run on cheap hardware with great results, so you are not locked into Apple's historically higher prices.

Unfortunately, about 4-years ago, as a photographer, I felt I had to move to OS X. The availability of commercial image manipulation programs, plug-ins, and native camera raw support were important. OS X had it and Linux didn't. Additionally, Linux color management needed to come a long way before I was able to use it reliably.

It looks like things might have changed recently. The folks over at Linux Photography are saying that it might be time for photographers to give Linux another look. Their conclusion.

I don’t think that the answer to Linux for photography is “Photoshop & Lightroom on Linux”. Open Source Software has developed some amazing pieces of software and I don’t see why photography would be an exception. My dominant feeling is “work in progress” and I see the “Linux photography ecosystem” maturing and moving forward in the right direction.

But let’s face it: Linux is not a drop-in replacement for Windows or MacOS for photography yet. Far from it. You can use Linux for serious photography, but critical pieces are still missing or are too kludgy for efficient work; you need to be willing to accept sacrifices. I use Linux for photography as an amateur, but I would never recommend Linux to a pro photographer with time / production constraints.

So there you have it. If you are rocking a DSLR, and are trying to get the advantages of using the high-level tools without the high pricetag, give Linux a try. There are lots of great flavors out there, and each comes with a plethora of image editing tools. Color management has come a long way on Linux, and that is an exciting step in the right direction.

My recommendation is Ubuntu if you are new to Linux. You can even run Ubuntu without installing it to your hard drive by using a Live CD. Setup is easy, and it runs on just about any computer you have lying around. You can dual boot it with Windows/OS X as well. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Personally, I'll be sticking with OS X for now. However, I might just have to give Linux another shot when it is time to upgrade my system again.