Tissue paper and other suggestions......

As far as close up photography using digital cameras goes I never have used my optical zoom feature as it is truly worthless in my opinion. Image composition and resizing is best done in your digital darkroom using a photo shop program on your old fashioned computer.

If you can select the aperture aka f stop, then it might be best to try using the camera at f 11 or f 8 as this will give you maximum depth of focus (best chance with close ups) aka depth of field.  This means the maximum range of near and far point of critical focus can be obtained. In close up photography this is often measured in inches.

It might also be a good idea to take a fold of facial tissue to place in front of the flash as this will help  soften the artificial light source. You just need the flash to fire through the tissue so it must not be held tightly against the flash unit and remember not to cover the lens with the tissue or with your fingers.

If your camera has a light balancing feature then you can just play around with the f stop and how you use the tissue to soften the light source (flash) and let the room ambient light work in your favor. This is the blessing using digital cameras as you are not paying in film for your mistakes; just erase the oops.

Often a photographer can control shadow casting from a single light source (flash) by using the tissue or placing white sheets or cardboard in the near or far background to bounce back the flash thus allowing room ambient lighting to fill in shadows in a most favorable fashion. 

Do not be afraid to do some table top photography outside and still try the tissue over the flash method. This can produce some stunning results.

If you have not detected in this reading, I hold a bfa (college fine arts degree)in photography so please indulge my rambling.

Keep it simple and have some fun.

Charlie from West Michigan...........

More from Charlie...

The tissue paper works real well. I've taken a lot of close up photographs using my digital camera. Being a gun collector as well as a toy gun collector, I've used this method to photograph cast iron or nickel plated cast iron cap guns that I collect. Many gun surfaces are highly reflective and it sure beats spraying the guns or using gel. The tissue often works better than a flash diffuser as it is more adaptable. Even in conventional 35mm photography I have used wide angle lens diffusers for close up work when I used my macro lens. One very good thing about using tissue is that you can hold it closer to the flash or out a little or use two layers to help you balance the light from the flash to the room lighting. With digital cameras you can get quick feedback and make more adjustments to balance the light. I remember doing close work with bellows extensions and all the calculations for exposure. I have not tried using any slave units with my digital. I guess I just want to keep things simple.