Tips for taking Great Photo's
I always use a portable light box and lamps with daylight globes to take my photo's. This helps to get the colours right and to eliminate unwanted shadows, but unfortunately it doesn't stop there. You will also have to spend a bit of time in photoshop or a similar program to adjust the brightness and contrast, tones, and sometimes the highlights and shadows.
Tips for Cutting Crisp Edges
I use a surgical scalpel with detachable blades, cutting mat and metal ruler to get nice crisp edges for my cards and scrapbooking pages. The scalpel is also a great option to cut around intricate designs and to help place small embellishments on to your project.