This really simple trick helps gives your photos just a little extra boost.

Here is my picture before (taken on my iPhone 5c)

BEFORE

To add a little bit of depth and clarity to my photo, I've logged into my GIMP (Photoshop Lite) and gone to the following: Colors > Brightness-Contrast. In most my of my photos, I go up to about the value of 20 or 30 on both Brightness and Contrast, but sometimes that is too much depending on the light. Play with it a little bit and see what you come up with.

For the final step, I go to Filters > Enhance > Sharpen for a finish. Also, play around with this one and see what you get!

After

I've also been using a program called "Afterlight" in the Apple App store that allows you to adjust things quickly (sharpening, contrast and brightness included!) and easily and even quickly add filters. You can get it here. It's definitely worth it for the money, especially if you can't afford the Canon 600D or any of those other expensive jobbies that many bloggers seem to have *sigh*. One day!
FTC: I am not affiliated with any company listed.