Photoshop can be a blessing and a curse. I love it because you can create nearly anything with it, but I also get frustrated because it tries to do too much. For every clever feature that streamlines a task, there seems to be one that's clunky or laggy.

These are the Photoshop features and quirks that, instead of making my life easier, just end up testing my patience.

6 The Blend Modes

No preview of the Blend Modes in the dropdown

I have always been bothered by Photoshop's approach to layer Blend Modes. Sure, you can see a preview in real time in the editing window when hovering over a blending mode, but that's the only thing it gets right.

Ideally, there would be thumbnail previews next to each blending mode name inside the dropdown itself. This wouldn't require me to hover over each one multiple times to remember what it looks like — even some free software offers previewing in the dropdown. The groups in the Blend Mode list are also very long and not visually distinct, which makes it feel vertically cramped.

Granted, my gripes here have more to do with the UI than the actual functionality of the blending feature. But overall, Blend Modes just aren't visual enough for me.

5 The Filter Gallery

The zoom lag is very frustrating

I like that Photoshop lets you stack multiple filters on an image via the Filter Gallery, and the filter options are decent, but it should not be as slow as it is. Upon opening the Filter Gallery, your image will be zoomed in a lot, which is already annoying because you don't get to see the bigger picture by default. And when you zoom out, things get extremely laggy — the view panel will constantly glitch between your image and transparency as you scroll.

Not to mention, applying a filter can also take ages, especially if you're working with a large file. At least the Filter Gallery offers previews of each filter in the dropdown, but they're too small for my taste. Overall, the Filter Gallery is too laggy to bother using most of the time.

4 The Foreground Color Picker

A design tool shouldn't have a modal color picker

Photoshop's Foreground Color Picker is modal, which means you can't interact with the rest of the content until you close the window. This tends to be common in software that is primarily an image editor and not a design tool; however, Photoshop markets itself as both.

It does let you dock a color window, but the Foreground Color Picker is bigger and has more customization options, which is why I feel like I have to use it despite the halt it puts in my workflow. Since designers widely use Photoshop, I think the Color Picker with its full functionality should be docked by default; it will just make everything faster.

3 Brush Smoothing

It lags so much, I don't even bother using it

The Brush Smoothing feature in Photoshop is so laggy that you're better off using a different program altogether if it's a feature you value. I couldn't even complete a curved line in the screenshot above due to how much it was lagging; it just stopped painting, and that's only at 38% strength.

In my humble opinion, the time and resources Adobe poured into Brush Smoothing would have been better spent on something more useful (like a non-modal color picker).

2 Smart Guides

Not as useful as the Snap To tools

Smart Guides feels like an overeager assistant that jumps in when I don't need it. It can be helpful for aligning your elements, but that's what I use Snap To for. Snap To is deliberate; I can turn on specific alignment points as needed. With Smart Guides, the pink alignment lines pop up any time you move something, which can get very distracting.

1 The startup screen

It's just a bottleneck

Not exactly a feature, but Photoshop's startup screen is less than desirable. Instead of acting as a launchpad, it feels more like a gated entrance because it prioritizes onboarding checklists and file suggestions over user freedom. There also isn't an option to minimize the startup screen, and if you close it, Photoshop doesn't take you to an empty workspace — it shuts down the program.

Compare it to GIMP's startup. It gives you options but doesn't force your hand; you can close the welcome window and still have full access to the editor whenever inspiration strikes. Same thing with Darktable's Lighttable view; you can jump into the editing window without any forced decision-making.

Sometimes it feels like Photoshop is working against you

None of these annoyances are dealbreakers on their own — Photoshop is still a powerhouse that I'll likely keep using. But when you use it regularly, these little quirks start to add up and can slow you down. Given the subscription cost, it's not hard to wish that Adobe would spend less time on flashy features and focus on refining the fundamentals.