Any photography experts out there?

your canon should be fine...some tips

try to shoot in natural light without the flash especially for close ups
if they come out too dark increase the iso film speed setting.
find out what your cameras close focusing distance is...if your are closer than the lens can focus your pics will be blurry.
stay with neutral backgrounds...not white or black...these can fool your meter to under or overexpose the pics. this should get you started...or confused.

alan

Here's something that might work with your digital camera. I sometimes diffuse the flash with a thin piece of white cloth or paper directly over the flash. It helps to reduce glare considerably. You can use other colors but that will be picked up in the photograph.

Your camera should have a setting for up close pictures, try using the auto focus. Make sure the camera is ready to take the picture before you snap the shot, they usually give you a tone or a light when there in focus. I've also had good luck photographing my gear outside in natural light.

Use a single light such as daylight (or tungsten and proper camera settings), and use white cardboard to fill shadows and provide the reflections for your equipment.

Nature provides only one light and often that is all that is required in product lighting. I use this method, employing aluminum foil covered flats and white boards too.

If possible, download a trial version of Photoshop (one of the simple versions). This will allow you to lighten, darken and do color corrections as well as sizing the image to Audiogon's requirements.

Samples of my photography may at the link below. I do many products for audio advertisers.

http://www.albertporterphoto.com/

Indoor photos w/o flash often need long shutter speeds so use a tripod (or other stable support) to get a sharp pics-- even with good lighting a tripod is beneficial. Craig