· Try to photograph the exhibit against a plain or un-fussy background. (You could use a drape behind the exhibit to help cut out any unwanted objects, but be sure to iron it first to remove any creases.)

· Try to photograph in natural light, which produces the best colour balance. Different light sources will produce different colour effects. If your camera lens has the ability, choose a setting which matches your light source (e.g. tungsten, fluorescent, etc.)

· Use a tripod if possible for the sharpest image, but if you don’t have one, the back of a chair or something similar will help to support and keep your camera steady.

· Observe closely what is behind or next to the exhibit and be sure to remove any objects which detract from it.

· Remove any debris from the base of the exhibit such as fallen leaves or petals.

· Don’t photograph against a strong light source (such as a window) as this will make your photo too dark unless your camera has the ability to change your settings to compensate.

· Try not to use a flash. This creates strong shadows and a colour change which detracts from the exhibit. If your camera is set on auto flash and you don’t have a choice, hold a white card just below the flash to deflect it upwards and soften the light, or tape some tissue paper over it.

· Stand directly in front of the exhibit and bend slightly so that your lens is level with the centre of the exhibit and you can clearly see most of the container. Don’t take the photo from above (unless it is obviously meant to be viewed from above e.g. aerial photograph)

· Zoom in to the exhibit to cut out as much background as possible, whilst still leaving a reasonable amount of space around it. (Make sure that you don’t zoom in too much and cut off part of the exhibit.)

· Be sure you are focusing on the exhibit, and not the background.

· View the photograph when you have taken it and crop any unwanted parts. Most modern computers, tablets and phones have a photo app already installed with a crop feature.

· If you are taking your photograph for an online competition, make sure you are emailing it at full size. Many email applications will automatically send at small size and lower resolution to make it quicker and use less data, but this will affect the quality of your photo so select “full size” or “original size”.