I think the best photo editing software is Ulead Photo Impact.
Very easy to use at first and as you get more expeienced it supports that level of expertese.
Once you really get into it you can then play around with some more serious software like Photoshop.
Over the years i always drift back to Photoimpact. Its got a automatic enhance button and can be even used to design buttons and backgrounds for a web page.
It can be bought on the net, but if you look on computer magazines you sometimes can get a version free.
great advice abd a great program