Whenever I take close up photos with a white cloth background it comes out blue, even in natural light. I use the auto feature as it works well for my jewellery it's just the colour balance I need

This is a common problem. The metering and light balance are the reasons that you are having problems achieving good results with your photos.

All cameras on the auto cycle are calibrated for 18% gray. Another words a photo of all white results in 18% gray. A photo of black results in 18% gray. The camera adjusts the shutter speed and aperture to achieve an average light level of 18%. That is why photos of snow always appear gray. To compensate for this characteristic of the cameras an 18 % gray panel is held in front of the camera and than the settings are set.manually. The metering in the camera is now locked and using the same light levels objects will be in their natural level.

A second problem is the white balance. Using flash avoids some of these problems. Adjusting the camera for source lighting type will help the most. The light balance is the cause of discoloration of the objects in the photo. Usually the camera white balance can be set for auto, incandescent, fluorescent, outdoor or flash,

Use a manual setting if it is available on you camera, You need to adjust the settings until you get acceptable results. If the photo is dark add light by reducing the aperture number to a lower number allowing more light. After the aperture is open wide(lowest number) increase the exposure to longer time. With very low light levels a tripod may be necessary.. After doing this once record the numbers for next time.

The priority modes often give you more control over more features than auto mode does. In auto mode, the camera is deciding your white-balance, and may not let you select a white balance setting even if you wanted to. In aperture priority, your camera will give you control over white balance. Switch to aperture priority, then check your white-balance (wb) mode. You should still be able to select "auto" within these settings if you'd like, but feel free to play with the various settings to get your ideal photo. Good luck!

You have the white balance set to the wrong setting. Go in and set it to auto white balance and see if your pics improve.

Double-check your flash settings. You mentioned the camera is in Auto mode, but the flash has separate settings from the camera's shooting mode. With the camera in shooting mode AUTO check the Flash settings (Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill-In, Off) It may be set to 'fill' causing your photos to be too bright.

Also, depending on how close you are to your subject the flash may not be needed. Using the flash when too close to your subject (less then 3 ft.) will cause bright/white photos. Turn the flash OFF if you are taking macro or photos closer then 3ft.

If neither of these fix your problem, turn the flash mode OFF, and camera shooting mode to AUTO and in a naturally well lit area, take a photo, if the photo is still too bright, you may have something mechanically wrong with your camera.

first GET TO AUTO MODE WITH FULL AUTO
if this doesn't work try going to manual and setting the exposure up to +1 or +2

The best setting really depends on the type of pictures you want. Do you want a white background and a completely focused picture or do you want a natural background and more artistic type of picture? The latter is easier to produce as it can be done with a soft hand-held flash and almost any kind of natural lighting conditions and you can put it on a surface according to what you want to get - reflection, colors, shadows and what not. Getting a white background takes more lighting effort and way more Photoshop to cut the item from the background. See the picture of the same rings, different style of photography.

Hey VickylnStL,
What I believe is going on is your white balance setting has been set to incandescent light which on your camera is a light bulb. For outdoor shots you should have the camera set to auto white balance, or have the white balance symbol set to the sun icon or the cloud icon depending on the conditions outside. I hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Allan
Go Ahead. Use Us.

You probably needed to reset the manual white balance. Lighting conditions can change considerably in 10 minutes at sunrise and sunset.

The following exposure options are available: P (Program auto), A (Aperture priority), S (Shutter priority), and M (Manual). There are four scene programs modes available in which the camera will choose the optimal settings for the picture: Landscape: Suitable for taking photos of landscapes and other outdoor scenes. Both the foreground and the background are in focus. Since blues and greens are reproduced vividly in this mode, the landscape mode is excellent for shooting natural scenery. Portrait: Suitable for shooting a portrait-style image of a person. This mode features an in-focus subject against a blurred background. Sports: Suitable for capturing fast-moving action such as sports scene or moving vehicles without blurring. Night scene: Suitable for taking night scene photos with a slower shutter speed.

The following exposure options are available: P (Program auto), A (Aperture priority), S (Shutter priority), and M (Manual). There are five scene programs modes available in which the camera will choose the optimal settings for the picture: - Landscape + Portrait: Suitable for taking photos of both you subject and background. The picture is taken with the background as well as the subject in the foreground in focus. - Landscape: Suitable for taking photos of landscapes and other outdoor scenes. Both the foreground and the background are in focus. Since blues and greens are reproduced vividly in this mode, the landscape mode is excellent for shooting natural scenery. - Portrait: Suitable for shooting a portrait-style image of a person. This mode features an in-focus subject against a blurred background. - Sports: Suitable for capturing fast-moving action such as sports scene or moving vehicles without blurring. - Night scene: Suitable for taking night scene photos with a slower shutter speed.