What software to use for photography

[oauccer972]

What software do you tend to use for photography when you have taken your photos, but want to do some edits? I've tried some of the free ones but it seems that they are either lacking in some aspects, or tend to have a huge learning curve for whatever reason.

 

[tango]

Usually free software is free for a reason.

I've used Capture One Pro and now use Adobe Lightroom paired with Photoshop. Ultimately if you want to be able to do exotic things with pictures you'll have a learning curve to climb. I probably use less than 10% of what Photoshop can do.