Photosohop Elements is one of the best of the mid-priced (about $100) image editing software programs. It is the “lite” version of Photoshop. I use it regularly. Version 5 is the latest but versions 3 and 4 are still very good. Elements will give the you basic features and tools of Photoshop. If you buy a $17 book, you can add more of the features of Photoshop. If you have version 1 or 2 it is well worth the upgrade to get a more receny version.
Adobe Photoshop is the most popular software among professionals. It is arguably the best software available. It can do amazing things. When I need the more advanced features that Elements doesn’t have, I use Photoshop. The only kicker? The price tag.

Read more about Elements and Photoshop here.