I found Paint Shop Pro the easiest to adapt to, I suggest you get free trials and try several before you invest, also consider the cost of renting or purchasing, what ever fits your style, Bob.
I have both Paint Shop Pro and After Shot 3 and am very happy!!!
For this week's assignment in my photography class, we were asked to do a food shot. One of the options was to have your food stacked and flying through the air. We saw some videos on how to accomplish the shot. The guy that made the video said it was really easy........just set up two light stands and string some strings between the stands as multiple shelves for each layer and in post production just clone out the strings. Easy!!! Sure.............NOT!!!! It was a nightmare and I spent lots of time putting this together. It does look best in download mode.
For this week's assignment in my photography class... (show quote)