First thing I would do is turn off your flash if you are using it. The flash is not useful on close shots. Then build a "photo table" by getting a couple of desk lamps that you can aim. Direct these lights on your target from opposite sides. The Reveal bulbs seem to give the best results for pictures. It is important not to put too bright of light on the target as you could wash out detail. At this point some people will put a white lampshade over target to help diffuse the light. I've never tried it. I've had my best luck getting pics using mildly diffused sunlight. The pic at the top is one that used the diffused sunlight method.
The next critical thing is the focus of your camera. My best results here have been with the zoom all the way out. You then need to move the camera closer to the target. If your camera has focus indicator never take a pic unless it is in the green. Doing this will sometimes cause the target to be a small portion of the overall pic. This is ok, because since you have a sharp focus you can crop the pic and have what looks like a great detail close up. The pic above originally, before the crop, was only about 1/3 of the pic. After the crop it fills the frame.
Try these tips and see if you can get a good pic. Post the pics on here!
-- Edited by Andrew in SE KS at 08:58, 2006-03-23
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Collecting the tokens of SE
Kansas since 2001
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I've found that I get much better results by only using a single lamp, on one side. Lights on either side tend to wash out the item being photographed.
It isn't too practical, especially if the wind is blowing, but I've had good luck photographing outside on a cloudy day. I suspect a shady site on a sunny day would be OK as well.
