besides the well known photoshop, any other programs?

my friend recommended after effects

Photoshop really is the way to go.
Adobe also makes a program called Lightroom, which is good for managing photos.
After Effects is for video editing, but of course you make still images in it too.

Photoshop is the best but spendy.

as if everyone is stupid enough to pay 600-800 bucks for a software

Photoshop Elements is cheap, and lightroom is cheap.

probably because they were all made in China jk
yep that's just another of my lame "Asian" jokes

Haha. I like your humor. xD

I think allmost every program is good, you just have to find your own style. Your own to editing your photos.

Photoshop CS3.
You can find student discounts too.



OR:
http://www.gimp.net
(Seriously the best if you cannot have Photoshop)

yeah... before I started to use Photoshop I actually tried to edit a few photos in mspaint it took me like an hour to remove a simple lamp post and the result wasn't that good either .
I guess my laziness and my obsession with computer games kinda prevented me from learning how to use Photoshop sooner

lllustrator could work, as could Fireworks if they're being used for the web.
Developing isn't exactly the correct term though.