Macro Photography

Well I want to sell my items on etsy, and of course catalog my keychains and other art but I know absolutely nothing about macro photography. Does anyone here know what I have to do to get my pictures to turn out okay? I have a Canon Powershot S2 as my digital camera and I know where the macro button is but it still ends up being pretty crappy. I just got this old tripod from my mother in law and haven't tried it out yet but do I need any sort of specific lighting, films, etc (coughcoughtsjcoughcough) I REALLY want a good digital SLR but Im flat broke and $800+ dollars isn't in my budget at the moment, I do have a regular SLR camera but digital is prolly best for selling my art online ( Any advice would be appreciated.

I suggest a lot of light. Try using a large flashlight as a light source. Hopefully this will be enough to allow for a smaller aperture and shorter time (less change for camera shake). Also, if you don't have a photo editor, picasa isnt too bad for being free. The shots that have an orange tint need to have the white balance corrected.

here is a link of some advice for micro. http//photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=85004

Thanks for the tip, I have very poor light in the area I photograph, my mother in law has some photo box things to photograph her jewelry - she hasn't photographed anything though, I have no clue what she's talking about but she says it's like a cube you stick your lens through, lol - Im just lost when it comes to macro photography, wish the community college offered a course on it.

Just talked to my mother in law, she says she has a photo tent to diffuse the light, which I may use so now I just need some lighting - I also looked at some close up 58mm lens and adapter for my camera but damn they are expensive!

I saw this a little while ago and luckily was able to find it again
How To DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio[=http//strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html]How To DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio

Photo tents/cubes are perfect for shooting your keychains and small items. You need some tent lights however, but ebay or any camera store sells mini ones for pretty cheap. I don't know what type of camera lens but don't splurge on a macro lens. If your current lens has a nice macro you should be fine.

here is a tutorial on setting up macro shots. I am sorry that I can't offer much more help as I have never really done macro myself.

http//inspiring-photography.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1399

love the photo tent. I have noticed that macro people use some of the most unique DIY items to achieve just the right amount of light.

[quote3f7f3d601e="Jams44"]Photo tents/cubes are perfect for shooting your keychains and small items. You need some tent lights however, but ebay or any camera store sells mini ones for pretty cheap. I don't know what type of camera lens but don't splurge on a macro lens. If your current lens has a nice macro you should be fine.[/quote3f7f3d601e]

Thanks guys for all your help, I think Im gonna try to make my own tent and get some extra lights for the side so it looks nice, also jams you are right I don't need a super expensive lens, it looks like my camera is good enough, Im just always trying to make it the best but it's not like Im out photographing beetles on plants or anything just some keychains and I can use a good editor to zoom in. I have Photoshop 7 on my desktop computer but I really want Corel Draw for some reason, lol