It is quite important that your monitor be calibrated when working with photos. I know that my IPS screen without calibration is too cool and too bright.

Also, when posters are discussing Photoshop, are they referring to Photoshop Elements or the true Photoshop? There is quite a bit of difference still between the two.

I originally started out in Elements (and still use it to create slideshows together with Premiere). I imported over to Lightroom and now use LR4. The new RAW processor is incredible and I find I can do more and more with LR such that I don't have to go into Photoshop as often.

I also recently found Portrait Professional Studio, which has worked very well for faces in pictures. It can be used as a standalone or as a plug-in for LR or Photoshop.