Digital cameras let us capture, observe, and print our images faster than ever. But speed is only part of the picture. Regardless of how automatic the picture taking process has become, there is usually room (or necessity) for shaping the picture's tones and correcting its colors. Alterations to digital images must be made by capable computer software.

Dozens of software products are on the market today. With so many different software packages available, the choices you make will be very important. Camera manufacturers typically bundle some form of picture editing software with their cameras, which may (or may not) suffice. The most popular photo editing software on the market is Adobe Photoshop. This software is so entrenched in our culture that the word "Photoshop" is often used as a verb as well as a noun.

In addition to being both powerful and popular, this software product is very technical, quite pricey, and requires significant training to become proficient. The good news is that several affordable software packages include much of Photoshop's core capabilities, including their own Elements product. There are several products that provide the tools you'll need to prepare your images for printing. All software manufacturers offer a free, downloadable trial version of their products.

In this chapter I’ll describe ten very capable packages on the market and make recommendations of the best overall software for picture editing. Ideally, you want a balance of horsepower, versatility, accuracy, and simplicity. My goal is to help you find the products that will allow you to produce great looking prints consistently and within a reasonable budget.