I need help with my camera settings, please??

[Lisi]

I am having a terrible time with my photos! Every one I take is dark and has that "sepia" brownish yellow tone to them. I color correct using Photoshop Elements 2, but some of them turn out looking overprocessed and grainy after all that. I used to take good pictures with my old Nikon, but since I got the new one, they are mostly crap these days.

I have a Nikon Coolpix L4, and my lighting set-up is this: photo cube, white paper background, and a single 100W GE Reveal bulb in a aluminum dish light. (the cheap clamp-on shop lights you can get at Lowe's for $5.99)

I need help with the settings on my camera, it seems like that is more the problem than the lighting. This is very frustrating! :(

[Solana]

There are several things to check. Read you camera's manual to determine if you can set features I'll mention below.

Some cameras will let you change your white balance setting based on the type of lighting you use (i.e., sunlight, clouds, incandescent, fluorescent). Also, you can play with the exposure value (EV) to brighten your images when photographing. I have my EV set to 1.0 or 1.5, which helps brighten my pictures.

Lastly, play with your macro for taking close up shots. You should use a tripod with this, so your pictures are crisp and focused. This will help keep your pictures from getting too grainy should you have to do some color touch ups.

Regarding your light set up, I use the same aluminum flood lights as you, however, I believe it's recommended that you use daylight bulbs. So, you may want to try getting some of those to experiment with as well.

Experimentation is the best way to learn how to use your camera! I hope the tips help! :) Good luck!

Edited to add: Just in case you don't have a user manual for your camera, here's a link to one you can download from Nikon's website:
http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-bin/nikonusa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=13939