Black Background, I Don't Get You

I'm supposed to be writing about something work related. Instead, I have this post open typing the night away. 

I don't like a black background, no matter how black the background is, I can't get it to look the way black should look in my photos.

See, first I tried taking a picture of one cupcake, then three and then five cupcakes. It's still not black enough. I'm not doing something right, am I? Camera settings perhaps?

This is the blackest black I got for the background. Unfortunately, the composition sucks, hehehe! :)

The roses are made from gumpaste. As you see, I still need lots of practice. They look like weird roses. I like it though when I gathered them all and made them into a bouquet. They actually look better together than on top of the cupcakes I made! 

Why red stems you ask? This post is inspired by a YA - Beastly by Alex Flinn. A modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I love fairy tales and also love fairy tale retellings. I'm supposed to tell you more, but I got distracted the not-so-black background. Anyway, there's always the next time. 

Happy Cupcaking, 

Aikko

ps: Beastly, the film version, opened last Friday. Can't wait to see it.