Do you marvel at those pictures that have a completely white background with no shadows at all? Me, too. I still don’t know how to do that perfectly, but I find that natural light gives me the most realistic colors possible. I NEVER use my flash!
Color and composition
When you’re done, use your photo software (I use a cheesy one from Office Max that was $9), and crop the photo tightly. You want your soap to be the focus, so don’t waste any of your viewer’s energy on empty space. If you’re selling on Etsy, crop it square. Then, if you have shadows or smudges, learn how to touch them up. To get a very bright, crisp picture, use your “brightness” and “contrast” settings to fine tune your lighting. But be careful! You don’t want it to look unrealistic.