You can take close-up photographs of relatively small items without a great digital camera, macro lens or studio by using a flatbed scanner. Today many printers are also copier/scanners and you can use this capability to photograph items for Ebay auctions or maybe even Instructables. The resulting photos are well lit, show the most minute details and have nice a clean white background or textured contrasting color background.

Step 1: Gather Materials

You'll need:
1. Flatbed scanner with scanning software
2. Item to be photographed
3. A throw, small blanket or velvet fabric, thick enough to block light and large enough to cover the scanner completedly.

Step 2: Pose Your Subject

Arrange your item face down on the scanner glass or position it in such a manner that the section
you wish to photograph is face down on the glass.

Step 3: Close the Cover

Lower the scanner cover gently and allow it to rest lightly upon the item on the glass. Then toss
the throw or blanket over the scanner to prevent light from escaping during the process.

Step 4: Or Leave the Cover Open If You Prefer

You could also, for a more artsy background, leave the scanner cover open and just toss a piece of
velvet, etc. in a contrasting color, over the item, but make sure the light can't escape through the material. If necessary, place a second heavy cloth over the first one.

Step 5: Scan the Item and Crop the Photo

Using the scanner software, scan the item and use the cropping tool to cut out any excess background space in the picture. Save it as a jpg file if it's going to be used on the web or a bmp or tif file if
it will be printed.