I use Photoshop primarily.

Photoshop is an incredibly powerful, deep, and complex program. Nobody can just pick it up overnight, there are a lot of arcane things that you need to do that aren't at all apparent at first.

GIMP is actually fairly powerful too. It can be used with a lot of plugins, and can potentially suffice as a decent editing program if you're willing to get used to using it. The interface isn't streamlined like Photoshop's is, nor does it have some of the most powerful features.

There is a middle road, though. Photoshop Elements has many of the features of the full powered Photoshop CS, costs a fraction as much, and has essentially the same interface, so you can transition from one to the next if you so choose. It also includes some decent photo organizing software, and can be used for a start to finish work flow for reasonably efficient editing of a lot of photos, though it won't do batch processing like the pro versions will.

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/

Newegg (best large online PC part seller) has it for $90. Premeire Elements is the light version of Adobe's video editing suite.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=elements+7&x=0&y=0


Here are a couple of reviews I just pulled from Google:
http://www.digitalphotos101.com/adobe-photoshop-elements-7-review.htm
http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_adobe_photoshop_elements_7.php


As working in Photoshop (Or GIMP, or anything else of this level of complexity) takes some learning to do, where better to look than a site made to teach the program? While there is stuff online on how to do stuff with the GIMP, there's not a whole lot of it compared to what you can find on Photoshop. But having someone show you how to accomplish some basic things in person can also be a great help.

Here's one example of something that's pretty easy to do, and will work exactly the same in any other version of PS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA8TgyTruV8

I had the same problem with Photoshop than Nyssa with GIMP. Besides, it was a pirate version, because I had no money for the legit piece of software, so it kept on crashing all the time, since I couldn't get the updates. GIMP is A LOT lighter than Photoshop and, even if it's confusing in the beginning, so is Photoshop. I don't know about Illustrator because my computer is old and couldn't install it back in the windows days (another advantage of GIMP is that it needs less resources). I have Inkscape installed too, but I rarely use it. GIMP is enough for my aficionado needs.
Plus, I think they're trying to make GIMP more compatible with the Photoshop plugins, filters and brushes.

Both Photoshop and GIMP are complex, and require study and practice. I didn't really begin to understand Photoshop until I read Ben Willmore's book "Adobe Photoshop 5 Studio Techniques"


It's by far my favourite one on the subject of Photoshop, which I have used for many years now.

Elements is a great choice for a non-professional user. Many powerful features, and there is a wealth of tutorials and books on the subject. I tried GIMP, and to me it seemed disjointed, but neither of the two are very intuitive. It really takes some time to learn them.

Gimp still confuses me. I can't seem to intuit what to use and how to get even some of the simplest of effects. I usually wind up with loosing my work. I feel as if I almost have to take a class to use it. It just doesn't feel natural to me. Best wishes in finding the right tool for you.