Adobe Exits The Stock Photo Business Today

What was an interesting experiment in merging an online stock photo browser into a desktop application, Adobe Bridge has come to an end today. Adobe cites the desire to focus efforts elsewhere. It’s unknown how much of a factor the sale of Getty Images played in Adobe’s decision.

Adobe Stock Photo first appeared in Creative Suite 2 and could be accessed in the Bridge Application. What made this experience nice was that you didn’t need to go through an internet browser (no log-in hoops to jump through), thumbnail images of all your searches were saved for easy retrieval, and you could place content into Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, ect. with just one mouse click. They were dangerously close to having a photo browsing and shopping experience comparable to media on iTunes.

Adobe sent the application off in style, any photo searches the past few weeks returned a series of images thanking users for their support.