One of the best ideas I can tell you is ask around here as you have and you will get a great consensus of thoughts on everything available.
Put your camera on a tripod and either make a light tent (easily done) or buy one somewhere. Use a camera shutter release cable or the camera's timer. Then ...
[1] Lighting is very important, placement, type of bulbs (NO they are not all the same color rating - important) unless your camera can adjust for white balance internally.
[2] Choice of Background - black pen on black background ... not a good idea unless the lighting is correct. Be careful also when photographing silver finishes and using a white background. Many pictures loose the edges of the silver parts IF they reflect the white background. Rearrange the lights and use the lighting to accentuate the parts better. A little shadow here, a little shadow there maybe will do the job.
[3] Composure - remember that what you see in the viewfinder is what WE see - even if you rework the photograph in an editing program. Just be sure that the object of interest is not too close to the top, bottom, left/right sides. If it should be vertical, then make it vertical in the viewfinder, same for being horizontal. Crooked pictures are troublesome to view for many of us.
[4] Take care and Look before taking the picture. Do not make your background detract from your object. A zebra against a bunch of black and white poles which match the stripes of the zebra make it hard for folks to see the zebra. Of course if you are being artsy then go for it. Same thing happens when one takes a beautiful pen and places it on a board of the same material. The pen can get lost against the matching background. Again, IF you want to get artsy go for it.
[5] Focus - Do the best that you can. If the picture is fuzzy to you, guess what, it will be fuzzy to us to. Back up and check again. Get someone else to check for you. Learn what DEPTH OF FIELD is all about. (This is a really lengthly discussion topic) Simply put, use the smallest aperture your camera has available and adjust the time of exposure to make the proper exposure. A pinhole opening is way better than a larger opening (lens aperture.) Try F16, F22, F32, etc. and adjust exposure times. Then compare the pictures in order and right next to one another IF you can afford to print them out until you get it right/better!
One other suggestion ... be sure and try SEARCHING the Forum for other previous posts on PHOTOGRAPHY. This subject has been worked over many, many times! Read them ALL and then ask more questions.
Try some of this info and experiment. Pay attention to your results. Make adjustments based on your results and shoot again ... digital pixels are reusable you know. Have fun! :biggrin:
