: a long time ago, a friend taught me that all a car needs is fuel,
: fire and air, and that the rest of the issues relate to reliable
: supply, regulation, metering, monitoring, etc. So when the car
: is not running properly, we begin the inquiry by checking the
: fuel, the fire and the air.

: I know that we need to do a thread or a scan day (or scan month)
: featuring photo tips, but let me start with a couple of simple
: ideas, parallel to the "fuel, fire and air" ideas of
: the automobile:
: Light -- you need a lot of light; usually artificial, but
: daylight is great

: Diffuse the Light -- with the bright lights come the hot
: spots and reflections; so the bright light must be diffused;
: softened; controlled; best pattern will be a large head (light
: source), rather then brightly focused lights or spot lights

: Camera with Good Macro -- some cameras have good macro, and
: some don't; use one with good macro capabilities

: Something to Hold the Camera -- you need something to hold
: the camera, allowing longer exposures with higher f/stop, to get
: more depth of field; tripod or brackets are required here

: Remote Shutter Release -- whether on a cord or wireless, or
: even the camera's self timer, you have an advantage (free hand)
: if you don't need to press the shutter release.
: We will devote a thread or scan weekend to photography tips, but I
: would say that these are the basics. With a Nikon Coolpix 4500
: from ebay ($200), the remote shutter release ($60), some shop
: lights from a home improvement store (cost uncertain), a
: mounting bracket ($50 to $100), and a frosted plastic trash can
: ($10), you can do well for under $300 to $400. If you do well in
: selling one watch, you will have paid for this set-up. Of
: course, you can spend much more, if your budget and interests
: take you there.

: Show below are an example of a lighting set-up showing these
: principles, and two of the resulting photos from this set-up;
: yes, these are the actual photos, taken with this exact set-up.

: Jeff

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