thanks for your words of wisdom! I made these loaves of bread at night, so sadly, there was no natural light to be had. And yes, you're right, there's definitely a pop-up flash going on here. That's all I have for now. I should look for some interesting surfaces to photograph my pictures on. I have a glass table so the shot actually turned out with a black background naturally - I didn't photopshop it that much other than taking out a light flare or two. Hmmm.... I'll keep trying.