What's your favorite photo editing software~?~

[outlawbusa]

What photo software are you using these days and why do you like it~?~

I used to do a lot of editing until XP didn't like my Photo Deluxe programs and Vista didn't like my Photosuite programs...then I kept up with some video editing but not so much on photo software.

Lay it on~!~

(estimated price wouldn't hurt either)

[SKnight]

Depends on what you want to do. I have Lightroom 2 and love it. Really easy to use, full featured, pretty intuitive. $299 from Adobe.com.

It's great for basic photography, you can download the full version of LR2 and Photoshop CS4 free for 30 days. Best test drive in the business.

[killaessien]

photoshop elements 8

[b4thenite]

Picasa

[F=MA]

A lot of photographers like Adobe's Lightroom. I've played with it a little, but not enough to figure out why I'd need it.

Photoshop Elements is a good basic editing program. I think one can get a copy of Elements pretty cheap...$80 or so iirc.

I use Photoshop CS2. I haven't looked into CS4 yet, but CS3 didn't seem to offer many additional features I'd use. Photoshop CS4 is probably retailing for $300 - $400.

You can probably get a copy of CS2-CS4 at a reasonable $80-$130 by looking on ebay. Sellers will package an upgrade with a previous version. You may find you have to install Photoshop 6.0 (or similar), then upgrade that to Photoshop 10 (or similar), before finally being able to upgrade to the final version you purchased.

Paint Shop Pro might be a cheaper option. It's been years since I've used that program though...and I've never used it since becoming anal retentive regarding photography, so I don't know if it would satisfy me today.

[Spectre]

I usually go for the free (legal) opensource softwares.

I really like the GIMP for my photo work.
GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program

plenty of quality video tutorials available here:
Meet the GIMP

won't cost you anything to take a look at it and it might fit your needs.

[TonyMastodon]

photoshop

[captain]

Depends on what you want to do......

Photoshop CS3
Corel Draw for Vector Artwork
Corel Photo