How not to get them again: diffuse your flash, or bounce it off a surface... anything but direct flash from the camera is going to give you better results. You could try just using a desk lamp for your lighting purposes on "studio" shots, all my studio shots are effectively done using a desk lamp or two as a lighting system :)

"In every colour, there's the light.
In every stone sleeps a crystal.
Remember the Shaman, when he used to say:
Man is the dream of the Dolphin"

Rich Meadows Photography