Digital Photography -- Image Taken...it's a little dimm

How do I make my pictures look vivid and colorful, rather than too bright or too dark, and how do I do this without using a tripod or a stable place to put it to capture the light. Since, whenever I use the flash, the image is dark since the flash gets only the part of the picture that's closest to the camera, anything behind that object is all dark. Is there a way of fixing this?

Well, it's been a long time snce my photography days but I'll give it a shot. My first instinct would be to not use a flash and adjust your apatuer so that it is open longer. Being that you do not have a tripod you will be required to not move, sneeze, or blink to hard. I am not sure exactly how well this idea may work seeing how all my photo training was never with a digital. Fortunately with a digital you won't waste any expensive film.

what kind of camera is it?