How did you choose your editing software?

[rubysue]

I am very new to photography but am at the point where I know I could benefit from some kind of photo editing software. I have no idea where to start. I have been trying to research but am just getting overwhelmed

I'm sure this has been asked a million times, but what would you suggest for a newbie? Most of my interest is in portrait photography (especially children). I want something that is fairly easy to learn/use, but also has a lot of capability once you are familiar with it. Is it wise to start with one of the free programs i.e. Picasa, Gimp, etc. before buying something like photoshop? Help!

[teaking]

I found the program I use by trying a bunch of them and deciding if they were good for my needs could they do enough and give me the freedom I wanted.

The first thing you need to know is what is the limit you want to go to no point over killing it picasa may be all you want and realistically need. Then its a good question to ask if you want a commercial product or to support open source lots of debates there lol but there very capable programs out there. Once you have found your tool have fun mastering it

[Tranquility]

I use Photoshop Elements 7. I cant remember why I chose it but I love it.

I totally recommend it, for several reasons.
First, it has 3 edit modes; Quick Edit, Guided Edit and Full Edit. You would ideally want to work in full edit, as you have full control, but the other two may be useful as you start out.

Secondly, since it is a very popular program, there are tons of online tutorials out there.
When I first started, one of my favorite tutorials was on how to change eye color - cause that's just fun! Plus, working with portraits, many times my daughters bright blue eyes came across looking dull and I wanted to brighten them. There is also a tool called the Healing Brush that makes it very easy to fix blemishes. I love this tool. Elements also comes with the "Organizer," where you can tag photos, make albums, sort and categorize and keep all your photos extremely organized.

You said you wanted something fairly easy to learn and use, yet with a lot of capabilities. Thats Photoshop Elements, definitely.

[eleazarparadise]

I recommend starting with Picasa 3 along with picnik.com. After a month download a 30 day free trial of Lightroom 3 and learn how to use it. Then upgrade.

Remember - Shoot in Raw, convert a copy to 8 bit tiff,work on it then export to jpeg.