How do I make a dull-looking photo appear better?

While there are many things that can go wrong in our picture making, you'll come to appreciate that a simple brightness and contrast boost might be all that's needed to make your picture look stronger/brighter—even punchier. Here are a few suggestions on how to get this done:

Firstly you might try the simple to use Brightness and Contrast tool:

• Guided > Basics > Brightness and Contrast (includes step-by-step instructions).

This scene (inset, right) is tonally quite accurate—the evening atmosphere was slightly misty, producing a very soft light. I wanted to add more visual drama to the scene so, I purposely darkened the file using the basic but effective Brightness/Contrast sliders and voila, the color intensified, producing a more dramatic result.

Other tools you can try include:

• Auto Smart Fix, or Auto Smart Tone (both of these are located under the...