Not to worry, that's about how all our first attempts look. You may be able to get away without building a light box (you'd be the first!), but here's a few things you can try short of that:
- use brighter, whiter lights. I don't know if you have them in the UK, but we usually use 150W GE "Reveal" bulbs
- try not to position them so far front (to avoid the harsh specular). If you build a box, point the lights at the subject through the walls of the box (which are generally made of cloth or vinyl)
- adjust your camera's "white balance" to help with the yellowish tinge. You'll probably want the "tungsten" preset, if it has one
- lower your ISO setting a bit to help with the slightly mealy texture
- bring your subject forward, away from the back wall, so we don't see a wall shadow (shadows must fall on the floor)
- increase your exposure setting... neighborhood of 1.0
That oughta be enough to get you started! I'm off to work, but in the meantime you might post a picture of whatever it is you're using for a light box, as well as the make and model of your camera.
More in 8 hours!
