I used PhpWebGallery v1.7 some time ago (2007/2008), it was the solution for the galleries recommendation in the FAQ from my hosting provider, but I did not do much with it.
Last week i lost my old gallery (not only the gallery) , changing from php 4.xx and mysql 4.0x to to more current versions v5.xx ... and, shit happens, my database backup was broken.
An excellent moment to install a new version and start over :-)
I had very little knowledge of html, css and php, so i use only what is offered at Themes and Plugins (if i understand the documentation)
Excuse my bad English, my language skills are low and I use the google translator