Just as the title says, I am seeking advice/tips from someone who is knowledgeable about DSLR camera settings to help me take better shots of defects and 50/50 shots.
I really struggle to get these types of shots no matter the angle, lighting, etc. The things I can see clearly with the naked eye usually fail to be captured or even seen through the lens of my phone's 13mp nor my DSLR when in Auto mode. I've even tried placing an object or my finger in the shot for better focus but that usually doesn't help much.

I'm sure that using manual settings will greatly enhance my chances of capturing these kinds of shots, but, I'm not familiar enough with camera settings to know which ones to adjust.

For reference my camera is a Canon EOS 1100D Rebel T3

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks