Here's a tip for taking better close ups of small objects. Professionals often use an "infinite background" to give a perfectly seamless backdrop look to their product photos. It's done by using nothing more complicated than a curved piece of construction paper! By gently curving the background paper, no seams or sharp transitions are visible, giving the appearance of an endless backdrop. Here are a couple of examples of the results, as well as a shot of the simple setup that I used. It can be done right on the kitchen table (cause that's where I did it!).
Here's one example of the finished product.
And here's another. Notice how the background seems to go on forever? It's almost like the racoon painting is suspended in space, but as you can see in the next photo, it isn't.
And this is the setup. I'm also using a "softlight" light box, which in this case happens to be a dentist's x-ray viewing box. It's nothing more than a fluorescent blub inside of a box with a white translucent front to diffuse and soften the light. Fluorescent light has the tendency to avoid the creation of hard shadows, so it helps with the "infinite background" effect. Just a few more simple tricks to keep in mind for better close ups.
