Proper colors

[relux]

I am having quite the problem here. I am taking pictures of clothing for ebay auctions under regular bulb room lighting. I am having a hard time getting the colors to show up correctly and it being not too dark or too bright. I am not that familiar with technical details of digital photography however I do know my way around. I am assuming going the "auto" route is not the way to go. Can anyone offer some tips on getting good shots in regular room bulb 40 watt or so lighting?

Regards,
Chad

[shniks]

If your camera has it, you have to change the white balance to tungsten. Normal light bulbs create a yellow cast, which most cameras get confused by, so auto tends to not work properly.
If you want to get an even better result you may be able to choose manual white balance, and set the white balance perfectly for that particular situation.

[Lagged2Death]

The tungsten white balance setting that shniks pointed out can help a lot.

But 40-watt bulbs are about the dimmest and yellowest bulbs you can get. If that's really what you're using, you may want to try arranging for brighter lighting, too. Borrow a couple of higher-wattage table lamps or other light sources from somewhere else in the house, or move your subject to a better-lit area. Get some real light on your subject, and your results can be a lot better.