Thanks - yes it was odd how much the background affected the light level. I started with two bits of A4 paper laid landscape but thought the 'horizon' would be too distracting, so I used one sheet turned portrait to eliminate it. I didn't change the lighting between shots but the second seemed much darker. Would it have been better to increase the lighting or is it just an adjustment in photoshop?

I'm also surprised at how sizing photos is making a difference - the original candle seemed much darker in a smaller size. I also put some pictures I taken of my musician friends on my
flickr account and pictures I thought weren't that good suddenly seemed OK after all.
Cheers
Moon
Camera = Fuji FinePix S6500fd
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