There are so many photography editing programs out there, but these 3 seem to be the most popular and most heard of. I started with iPhoto because it was free and came with my computer. I was very impressed with the editing options this program has for being a free software. Knowing that I couldn’t use iPhoto for everything (especially as I seek a more professional level of photography), I purchased Adobe Photoshop with my student discount through Pitt.

Photoshop is a whole other story! Photoshop allows you to do just about everything, but it is definitely more invasive and challenging to learn how to use the thousands of editing options it has. However, there are several tutorials you can watch to learn how to use many of the tools on Photoshop (my favorites are by Scott Kelby…also check out http://psdcollector.blogspot.com/2010/02/1000-massive-collection-of-best.html and   http://www.photoshopessentials.com/)

**(Speaking of Scott Kelby, I highly recommend his book “The Digital Photography Book” …there are 3 volumes)

Last, but not least…Lightroom. I do not have Lightroom (yet), but it is on my “things to buy” list. Lightroom was designed by Adobe to assist photographers in managing thousands of digital images as well as finalizing ‘post production work.’ This program allows you to keep your photos uniquely creative, sharp and organized.

I’m sure Adobe will continue to perfect these programs over time, but for right now..I can easily say that by using these programs you can make your picture go from a great image to an absolutely stunning photograph.