What photo programme

teddysmum

I've had good results with Paintshop Pro, which has lots of editions, but is cheaper than Photoshop.

lemontart

photoshop elements 13 brilliant for such

ab48uk

Picasa 3. Free and easy to use.

EchoLocation

Yes, GIMP can be fiddly at times, but it's well worth persevering with as it can rival Photoshop for results.
In terms of image masking as the OP wants, that's very easily achieved in GIMP.

AtomBoy

Photoshop all the way!

Though if you're not too precious..you could fiddle with it in MS Paint (yuk).

Mr_Toad

Another vote for Photoshop Elements 13.

I have a full blown version of Photoshop, it's an older version CS3, but the learning curve is steep and it does far, far more than I need.

After trying elements at a friends I found it intuitive and easy to use and more than capable of doing everything I usually do when editing my pictures. So I bought a copy and haven't looked back.

I do have GIMP on my machine but found it even harder to use than PS. I think if you have the time to devote to learning then GIMP is an excellent tool.