Adobe Lightroom 3 - this allows editing similar to what is possible in a darkroom. It is relatively easy to use. However, its strength is in its organizational abilities in addition to strong imaging editing (as opposed to image manipulation). I highly recommend and use this program.


Adobe Photoshop - this is an expensive and cumbersome program used by professional photographers and graphic designers. Just about any type of manipulation is possible using this program. Furthermore, there are hundreds of "plug-ins" that allow additional features. I do not use it because it is too cumbersome, complicated and expensive.

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Adobe Photoshop Elements - this is the "dumbed down" version of Photoshop for those who are not professionals or serious amateurs. It literally is 1/6th the price of Photoshop. I purchased a copy years ago and did not like it. However, Adobe has significantly improved the software since my use.


Picassa - this is a free software package from Google for organizing pictures. A decent amount of editing can also be performed using this software. I prefer Adobe Lightroom, but this is a nice alternative for the price.