Her tutu has been fluffed, her stomach filled, her baubles and beads delicately adjusted ― everything is ready for the perfect photo, the kind you enlarge and hang on your wall for years of ooh-ing and ahh-ing. And yet, as predictable as stormy weather on a vacation day, tears begin to stream down flushed cheeks, plopping down on the perfectly primped pettiskirt below.

No desperate assortment of dancing or singing can calm the irate 1-year-old until, as a second thought, a glorious bright- yellow container of banana puffs emerges from a nearby purse. The miffed model is suddenly quiet, shoveling fistfuls of puffs into her mouth. Drool and liquefied puff remnants drip down the sides of her once camera-ready face.

And then it happens. She flashes it ever so quickly ― a smile, the most perfect smile there ever was. As the tears sit suspended on her cheeks, her eyes sparkle mischievously.

She�s certain she�s ruined the perfect photo, and is seemingly quite pleased with herself.

But she�s wrong. So very, very wrong.

Adobe Photoshop remains, hands down, the best photo-editing software on the market, for everything from removing tears to making drool magically disappear. But unless you�ve undergone formal training, Photoshop is a difficult program to master and is accompanied by a cringe-worthy price tag. Free (and nearly free) photo-editing tools have come a long way, and you really can do almost anything you could do in Photoshop ― and sometimes more. A nearly exhaustive list of free downloadable photo-editing tools dots the photo-editing landscape; but here are a few worth checking out.

www.picmonkey.com

�Prepare your eyeballs� is its current tagline. PicMonkey is a fun photo-editing tool that allows you to do some fairly serious photo editing without feeling like you�re doing serious editing. The best part, for many people, is that it�s easy on the wallet. The basic features are free. For more function, however, PicMonkey does have a premium version for a small amount each month. PicMonkey gives you hundreds of ways to manipulate your photos that need a little love.

www.picasa.com

Picasa is a photo-editing and management program that also lets you take advantage of Google+ integration to back up your photos automatically. With a nice array of editing functions and other features, this program is a good photo-management alternative for users of varying experience levels. Picasa contains a nice selection of editing tools that allows you to crop and straighten images, eliminate redeye, add contrast, and apply a variety of filters. Many of the editing tools come with sliders to control the intensity of the effect they deliver, giving you the ability to find just the right balance for each image. It is free to download and use and includes 1 GB of storage for no additional charge.

When it comes to organizing your photos, Picasa makes it easy. Assign keywords to your photos and then use Albums to organize them just the way you want to. Albums are virtual groupings of photos that only exist in the Picasa software.

For editing, there are three convenient tabs. Basic Fixes, Effects and Tuning. �I�m Feeling Lucky� takes the guesswork out and enhances photos automatically. For a quick way to prep photos for sharing, Picasa is the way to go.

www.BeFunky.com

If you�re looking for a powerful photo editor that doesn�t carry a heavy cost and can be accessed and used anywhere, BeFunky is it. Check it out on the web, and download it for Android or iOS. BeFunky is �new school� software that gives everyone the skills of a Photoshop expert in a matter of seconds.

With all the photo effects you love and many you won�t find anywhere else, BeFunky Photo comes stocked with powerful photo-editing tools, a collage maker, tons of fonts, photo frames, overlays, and stickers.

Plus, with BeFunky, you have the ability to instantly and simultaneously share your photo to your camera roll and BeFunky/Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Flickr/ Tumblr. No registration is required, there are no ads, no watermarks, no limitations, and no forcing to share.

Adobe Photoshop Elements

Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 is one of the best photo-editing software for beginners because it offers an impressive selection of editing tools along with some very nice online resources to help you learn how to use all aspects of the software. A user guide and video tutorials are a good place to get started, but if you need a little extra help, you can always contact Adobe for assistance.