Parriah's why did you vote the way you did?

[Za Zjurman]

A good help with Phototechnics is looking for pages with "object Photography". There will you find a lot of useful hints. These pictures often should sell products and must be "perfect".
Here is an example of a good website: http://blog.dreamstime.com/2009/07/31/object-photography-basics_art30087

Thanx for the tip.

[Relic]

Do you mean the background doesn't matter at all, or when the choice is the most difficult, then you try to ignore the setting and concentrate on only the figs?

I mean that this is a painting contest and I judge the quality of the painting . If Both entries are equally well painted, then I will take the background in to account. 

Otherwise, great to hear from you too. 

Thanks

[Drachenklinge]

@ photography
the best results I do usually achieve when taking pix outside on a sunny day, but not in the direct light of Mrs Sun. Preferably in the "shadow" of a white wall. I think this is next to a photo-box with artificial light.

Then again, I do not have a special cam, but a cheap normal "click & forget" digital one. There are some cool options with the super-macro, but that is not possible for the team-pix needed here.

Usually that is enough. Actually I do use my super macro options more for checking myself's painting limits, because nothing is as pitiless as a camera lense and the later zoom. 

best wishes
Drachenklinge

[Parriah]

It is better to under expose (darker) rather than over expose (brighter). On an over exposed digital image, the whites are blown out and you can never get those lost details back, while in an under exposed image there is usually still information there and adjusting levels can get you close to proper balance. A correct exposure is best of course- the less post production manipulation you have to do, the better.

Avoid using the camera's flash. If the lighting is so low that a slow shutter speed required, you may need to set the camera on a timer so that you keep things crisp. Like film, any shutter speed below 1/60 of a second can get motion blur from slight camera movement, and to be honest I find digital less forgiving than film in that respect.

I've had LOTS of problems with the blur thing, but at least with these numerical cameras, you don't waste fil;m, just hit the delete button, all gone!

Thanx for the assist!

[Wirelizard]

There are a variety of "how to take better photographs" threads around LAF, but I'd seriously recommend investing in a small tabletop tripod.

$20-30 (or your local equivalent, give or take) gets you a solid little mount for your camera. That, knowing how to set custom white balance, and use of your camera's timer can get you better-than-average results with a very average camera.

So, buy a tabletop tripod and read your camera's manual.