How do you get colors to pop, intricate details to sing, and an image with real punch? Photoshop isn't always the answer. And it's not necessarily a fancy filter or exposure secret that only the pros have. Sometimes, the easiest way is to turn on a setting in your camera and let it do the rest. Digital cameras offer so many tools, they can be a bit overwhelming. But when used appropriately, in-camera enhancements go beyond gimmicks and produce stunning photographs. And there's nothing wrong with letting the camera do the work for you.

Take for example the purple tulip I shot below. It's a fine image by itself, straight from camera. It's sharp, has good saturation and exposure, and in truth it might even be more faithful to what was in front of the lens. There's nothing wrong with it. It was taken on the camera's normal image mode, which is the default for all pictures and usually does a great job.

But look what happens below when I turn on the D200's vivid setting, which is programmed to boost saturation and contrast.

Boom. What you see is also straight from camera, but notice it has a lot more pop to it. The purple is deeper, the water drops stand out more, there's a better sense of light and the white and blue burst and the parts inside the flower really sing. In my mind, there's a lot more going on in the second image. But it didn't take a second in post to bring that out. The Nikon D200 did it all for me in camera. All I had to do was shoot with the vivid setting instead of normal.

Take a look at the images side by side with no enhancements. You can really see the difference. What's on the right I probably would have brought out in Photoshop anyway, but having the camera do it is much easier and saves you a lot of time.

The vivid setting is great for landscapes and flowers, wherever you want to boost saturation and contrast. Just be careful not to overuse it. It's a matter of taste, but when you're selling images it's also a matter of what people like to see. The saturation and contrast can be too much for most images, but I find that it really helps when you want to elevate the natural colors of something like a flower and you don't have a polarizer or you don't want a lot of work in post. The camera will do it for you. Most digital cameras have several optimization settings. When used selectively, these settings can instantly take your images to a higher level.

So there you have it. Instantly boost your color saturation and contrast with your camera's vivid setting. And play around with other settings to find out how they work for you.