How do I make the colors in my photos "pop"?

Moose

I was talking with a fellow T2i owner over on my Facebook page and she was wondering how to make colors "pop" in photos. I thought it would be beneficial to share our conversation with all of you...

Gina's Question: Other than Photomatix Pro, do you have any tips on how to really make the colors pop in your photos?

Moose's Answer: You have a couple options for making colors pop:
1. For outdoor shots, a circular polarizer will saturate everything...not just the sky. While this is great for landscapes, it can sometimes make skin tones look a little funky.
2. You can create a custom picture style for the T2i and turn up the saturation a bit. Check out page 94 of your manual for setting up a picture style.
3. You can increase the saturation after the fact by using photo editing software. Picasa by Google is a really simple photo editor that includes basic photo manipulation tools. If you're looking for something more advanced, Lightroom is a great piece of software.