Mousie, I'm not an expert by any means but I have found that the setting for "scenery- floral" is what makes the best pics for me. To take the best pics, I use daylight from the window or take them outside. The best light is in the AM...not so much of an orangish tint to it. I don't use an external flash. Sometimes I will add some fill light from Picassa when I load them onto the computer too. It just depends. I'm not sure you need to "pose" them on the velvet. For your black background, you might rather use a white sheet.