You can dramatically improve the appearance of your pictures with an image-editing program which allows you to fix problem photos and make your photos look like the scene you photographed. Basic color, contrast and tone adjustments, sharpening, redeye and color cast removal can be done very quickly and easily. You can also crop, resize your photos for email, clone out unwanted objects, add text, and create composite images and panoramas.

Adobe Photoshop Elements is what I teach and recommend as it has the most features, is easy to use, and there are many how-to books and free online tutorials written for it. You can also import and edit scanned photos and restore old or damaged photos. You can print your photos right from the program at the size you want. In addition, Elements 5 makes great slide shows, scrapbook pages and greeting cards.

Mimimum System Requirements for Elements 5:

Windows XP with Service Pack 2
256 MB RAM (512 MB or more recommended)
900 MB of available hard-disk space
Monitor with 1,024x768 display resolution

Top Reasons to Get Photoshop Elements 5.0

• Do it all with one product. Edit, organize, and show your digital photos with one powerful yet easy-to-use product.
• Make your photos look their best. Fix common flaws with
  a click and edit with less fuss, perfect your photos with advanced options, and have fun with artistic special effects.
• Show off your creativity. Share your photos in entertaining and creative ways. Use fun templates or customize the way you want.
• Find and view photos the way you want. Keep your photos
  at your fingertips with powerful and flexible tags, search options, and comparison tools.
• Create top-quality images with software based on industryleading Adobe Photoshop software.
  

Features in Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0:

• Customizable slide shows
• Retouch specific areas
• Automatic red eye elimination
• Share photos online
• Realistic skin tones
• Isolate objects from backgrounds
• Find and sort photos by face
• Order prints or hard-bound photo books online with one click
• View photos on your TV
• Use Folder View to access photos or add, delete and move folders
• Quick-launching Editor mode