I'w with Jose on this one. I take lots of pictures.
I never use flash because it "flattens" the image, and makes it look less natural unless you're really good at it, which I am definitely not.
Whenever possible, I use a tripod or other support. My favorite "other" is the Manfrotto "magic arm." All my cameras and supports have the same quick mount, so I can switch quickly enough that I don't think of it as any effort at all.
My 18x18 home shop has four each of the two-tube eight-foot fluorescent fixtures mounted up at the top of the nine-foot high white ceiling, so I get good lighting most everywhere. In addition I have another smaller fixture over by the mill, and machine lights on the lathe, mill and drill press.
That's working lighting. Recently, I added four banks of 5 each of those compact 100 watt fluorescent twisty bulbs in homemade fixtures. Those fixtures were salvaged when we updated our photo booth at the shop. I mounted them on the ceiling to fill in various darker areas, and I use them only for photographing my work.
So, as you can see, I have a lot of lighting in my smallish two-car garage.
Now, with the camera on a tripod, I don't get the shakes much, but as Jose suggests, I often use the self-timer to reduce the possibility. More often, I use the timer if I have to be between the camera and the subject, or if I want both hands to show.
I do occasionally take setup and process photos with a hand held camera, but I watch the shutter speed. I chose the cameras I use partly because they have the same image stabilization as video cameras, and that's supposed to translate to two extra f-stops. For me, that means I can expect to get a clear shot at 1/30 second exposure, so I make sure not to exceed that unless I'm on a tripod. I tried monopod and it seems next to useless for me.
I take LOTS of pictures. Did I say that already? Well, I meant it. I take AT LEAST six exposures of every shot I set up, bracketing the exposure most of the time. I can get rid of the ones that didn't focus right, had poor exposure, or whatever. And I always try to frame the shot so it won't need cropping later. That keeps image quality up. How many pictures is LOTS? Well, I bought my first digital SLR some time ago, and in a little under three years the image counter just rolled over 47,000. That averages out to about 40 pictures a day, seven days a week. Taking lots of pictures helps you get good at it, and fast, too.
More important than specifics of technique, lighting, or whatever, I think practice is the real way to get good pictures. Years ago I was hanging with a well known local professional photographer, who was approached by a newbie who wanted to know what gear to buy so he could take great photos.
My friend said, "Sorry, but all I can tell you about cameras is that I use this kind, extending his 35mm SLR for the young fellow to inspect." I'm a professional, and I suppose I'd take the same pictures with just about any camera - it's all about the eye, light, experience and art."
Same for me when folks ask what tools they need to build or fix guitars. I don't really know squat about band saws - I just have this old Delta here. . .
Now, if you want to publish photos, read on . . .
HERE'S A REALLY BIG SECRET:
If you are taking photos for publication or presentation, make sure to have your hands in as many as possible. If you're showing a small part, hold it in your hand:
Trust me on this. If you think it's not important to show hands, you are simply thinking WRONG.
Back in the early 70s one of my first magazine editors was even more heavy handed about it. He told me straight out, "Hands in every picture. No hands in picture, we don't run picture - get it?"
I listened to him, and as a result my photos are used more often than lots of others' pictures. No kiddin' - it's the real deal.
Hands in picture = humanity, life, scale, even the appearance of motion.
No hands in picture = static, lifeless:
If you look through my many articles on FRETS.COM you'll see an abundance of hands-in-photo throughout the instrument repair sections, and not so many in the machining articles.
Two reasons for that.
Machines are hard to photograph with hands in view because often the hands are far away from the "action," and to put them closer would imply serious safety concerns.
The second reason is that at first I wasn't taking my machining articles all that seriously so I didn't post them with the same expectations as with my luthier material. You'll see more of my hands in the newer machining articles.
). So they're taken with a fairly inexpensive camera using the above tips
