So, you’ve heard about Linux, an operating system that’s both free (as in open source) and costs nothing. Maybe you’ve wondered whether Linux is suitable for photography or photographers. Regardless, your curiosity has led you here, and you want to explore photography on Linux and assess its viability as an OS for your creative endeavors.
Now, I won’t bore you with an overly long introduction, but a brief overview of Linux might be helpful. First off, let’s dispel the myth of a perfect operating system—there’s no such thing. Linux, like any other OS, has its strengths and weaknesses.
Recently, I had a candid conversation with a Linux enthusiast friend. We discussed writing this article and even contemplated creating a Linux distribution specifically tailored for photography. His advice stuck with me: “Be honest—don’t portray Linux as the holy grail of operating systems.” So, let’s keep it real as we delve into the challenges and opportunities of photography on Linux.
The Challenges: Dependency Hell and Corporate Indifference.
Dependency Hell: If you’ve been using Linux for a while, you’re probably familiar with this term. Imagine trying to install a specific application, only to discover that it requires additional packages that your chosen distribution doesn’t provide. Frustrating, right? You’re left with a few options:
Option A: Switch to a different distro that offers the necessary package.
Option B: Hunt for alternative software (or abandon the desired package).
Option C: Roll up your sleeves and compile the application yourself, hoping for the best.
Option D: Give up and return to Windows or macOS. Fortunately, these issues are less prevalent nowadays, thanks to solutions like flatpaks, Appimages, snaps, and pre-compiled programs (such as ART).
However, my favorite paid application, Pixeluvo, recently stopped supporting Linux due to dependency-related headaches. It’s worth noting that both macOS and Windows face similar dependency challenges, albeit less visibly.
Corporate Indifference: The big players—think Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture One, and Luminar—largely ignore Linux. Whether this is problematic depends on your perspective. In the Linux world, we rely heavily on open source software. The scarcity of proprietary tools on Linux stems from the tangled web of distributions and dependencies. It’s a headache from the developers’ viewpoint too offer and support software on Linux. But here’s the twist: Solutions exist. Perhaps something akin to Appimages could bridge the gap. It’s not rocket science—just a matter of corporate willingness.
Apparently I can go on forever about these things, but let’s move on and address the topic; -Why photography and Linux fits!
Open Source: this is important keywords for Linux, and it basically means freedom in every sense of the word! Also most photography applications for Linux are open source, meaning you can change the application in any way you want, you can even copy all of the source code, re brand the application and call it “Eric’s best photography app ever!” and release it as your own project. focuspoint Linux is a “forked/re-spin” project of another forked project of another forked project (you see how that goes?).
Open Source means that if the interest for the project is great enough the project will be very strong as it will draw coders (and what else is needed) to that project, think Gimp, darktable, rawtherapee, krita, libreoffice, VLC player, Blender, Inkscape, Open Office, etc. To name a few. What they all have in common is a strong community with a really strong source and it’s all developed so you and I can enjoy it all for free as in pay nothing and free as in do-what-you-want with it, and that on top of a free operating system that are backed by a strong development team. Remember, Linux powers your fancy car, your cool fridge (pun intended) your android phone, the lift at your work space, aviation, server parks, maybe even your hand held gaming device, tv, decoder etc. Even Microsoft now codes for Linux. Linux is strong!
Come to think of it, wordpress the engine that powers this site and millions other sites is Open Source, to quote wordpress.org “the freedom to build.the freedom to change.the freedom to share.”
I genuinely feel that Linux is in many ways a better operating system for me (than windows/mac) and maybe it even is for most people. Linux is today a very secure os and it’s an operating system with (usually) lesser of an overhead (meaning it uses less of your system resources)
Another (debatable) advantage is options, we have a ton of options to chose by (sometimes the options may feel overwhelming) we have different desktop environments, such as gnome, kde, xfce, budgie, cinnamon and a few others, we have different window managers, different package managers and other things and then we have an ridiculous amount of different distribution options to select by.
The above is a huge advantage as long as it’s all securely managed.
“OK, OK, but Linux does not offer anything as good as Lightroom, Capture One, Luminar etc etc” Well that is debatable of course, I personally do feel that i.e darktable can easily match for-example Lightroom when it comes to the features I care about. I don’t care one bit for AI features (which is more and more baked in to premium software) If I cared about that I would definitely need to stay on windows or mac, but strip away the AI features and darktable (rawtherapee, ART, etc) is just as strong as Lightroom, and even stronger in my opinion, however LR is very fast compared to darktable. By the way, just to mention it, my new favorite application is LightZone beta 5! and you can find that application in FocusPoint Linux.
You also too a certain extent have Pixeluvo, but development for Linux is stopped (because of mentioned “dependency hell”) and it only works on a few Linux distros (it works on focuspoint linux with the correct tweaks).
Maybe you don’t need the library features? then Rawtherapee will win any comparison to Lightroom, with exception to speed that is. Now the listed options here are only a few options we have in Linux, if you need a specific tool chances are it’s available…for free!..
Maybe you really feel you need photoshop to finalize your images?
Well maybe you should consider Gimp or even Krita? Gimp is a really good and strong software that in many ways can rival Photoshop, there is a learning curve though, but there are lot’s of plugins that may make Gimp act more like Photoshop.
“But I don’t mind paying for premium features” OK, if that is the case and you want premium software you only have a few options for Linux, you have AftershotPro 3 (a blazing fast raw developer) that only really works on a limited number of distributions (Ubuntu based, fedora based and sometimes Arch based) it’s so hard (for newbies) getting Aftershot Pro working that we (focuspoint linux) offer an installation script just to get you up and running.
Navigating the Landscape: Linux, Photography, and Choices
Now, If you’re willing to pay and don’t mind big corporate closed software, Lightroom Online is an option. It’s functional, and Adobe keeps adding features. Just remember—it requires an internet connection.
But here’s the crux: Quality isn’t the sole factor. It’s about the features you crave and your willingness to adapt. The learning curve from Lightroom to darktable can be steep. Surprisingly, people new to photography often grasp darktable or RawTherapee faster than seasoned Lightroom users, this us because seasoned photographers are so fixed in a sertain workflow that changing to a software that is fundamentaly different becomes hard. The difference actually isn’t monumental (it just seems like it is) it’s the subtle nuances that makes it seem so different. Once you see the likeness, you’ll appreciate free and open-source development—it’s on par, if not better.
In my opinionated conclusion, I’ve chosen to dive headfirst into Linux and photography. Corporate profits don’t bother me, but quality and options do. Many Linux enthusiasts staunchly embrace open source. While I’m not 100% there yet, I get why they’re in that camp. Maybe I belong there too—I just haven’t fully decided.
Stay tuned—we’ll explore those alternative applications mentioned in this article in more detail later.
