I am a little confused about all the software options I am finding in my online search (Photoshop, onOne Software, Alien Skin Snapart, PhotoStudio, etc.). Just looking for some good, not too expensive software to use...I am obviously a novice, and don't want to spend the money for professional versions...any thoughts? Thanks in advance...
Photoshop Elements 7 is a fairly powerful photo editor for a very reasonable price. Lots of information available to help you too. GIMP is a very powerful photo editor that is free but it's not that easy to learn (thank goodness for YouTube though). There are a number of other free photo editors that will do basic photo editing like color, hue, contrast, sharpness etc...and some will also organize your photos.
I would recommend either Photoshop Elements 6 or 7, and Topaz Adjust 3 plug in. Topaz Adjust - Redefining Creative Exposure
GIMP's big limitation is it still can't handle files that have a 16-bit color depth. If you check Amazon.com there are some new user instruction books for GIMP.
Check out paint.net, also free and similar to GIMP. I like paint.net better than GIMP, but just my opinion.