Flash is very difficult to use and best avoided. Better would be to get a tripod and use a slow shutter speed with a low ASA value. If you don’t have a cable release use the portrait/selfie timer on the camera. Sooner or later, if you are going to publish the results, you will need to edit the pictures. Forget about fancy editing programs such as Affinity and Facebook, ordinary .jpg viewer on Windows Office or Microsoft has a good, simple, very easy to use editor.

Remember you have all the time in the world to take many photographs. The more obvious is remove the swarf and take the key out of the chuck.

JA

[Charles beat me to it]

Your camera looks like it’s pretty decent, and should give good results for your purposes.

However, even if you have no interest in photography as such, for what you want it really would be a good idea to learn some of the basics, for example, Jason mentions the white wall fooling the camera’s exposure control, so you need to know why that is, and what you can do about it.

I can’t give you references, my knowledge of photography comes from the days of film, and although the principles are the same, a modern book/online tutorial/etc. will be easier to apply to your camera. You can always skip the bits about taking portraits or whatever, though the basics of composition are worth knowing.

And yes, don’t use the flash, you’ll have loads of problems with reflections, burnt-out bits, etc. with it.

Hi Pippin, having it on your shiny milling table doesn’t help, and a somewhat mixed and a little cluttered light and dark background won’t help either. Try to get a background that is the same shade all over, with a matt white or suitable  pascal colour that doesn’t clash with your item, have some good lighting that is even over the whole area, flash is not very good with close-ups, but one way is to defuse it, by covering it with a white piece of fabric, or a few layers of white tissue paper. It would also help if you used a tripod, and used the shutter’s self timer when taking your photos, then you could try directing some light in the right place, with a piece of matt white card or a board. And yes do as JasonB has said about the size of the photos, and don’t crop them, or edit them in anyway.

Regards Nick.

All good advice above, I’d only add that a polarising filter would help control reflections.

Rob

Don’t use flash. If not bright enough, use extra lights. If possible move the object to where there is more natural light. Use white panels to reflect more light onto the object. Good luck.

You are getting a bright streak from some light or other. I would switch that off for a start. If you need to light the scene then use a light bounced off the ceiling or an adjacent wall.

Pippin,

As has been mentioned, try to get bright, even lighting across the subject and avoid high contrast backgrounds eg a white wall behind the darker mill table.  Flash can be good but can also make certain scenes look worse.

Maybe also, if possible try to capture only the area of interest ie get closer in if focusing allows.

Like many, I use a mobile phone for 90% of my pics….it’s more than good enough, and it’s 5 or 6 yrs old. An iPhone has probably the best overall camera/software set up….I use an Android phone.

Also, within the camera Settings, find the settings that allows you select the area (small, medium, large) that the camera sensor will try to make look the best….this will affect Exposure (eg brightness) ….and what part of the subject the camera Focuses on.

So maybe dig out your camera’s manual, have a re-read of it and particularly look at how to set up the area of Exposure and area of Focus.  I find that Settings have a mystical habit of ‘adjusting’ themselves as soon as my back is turned, so check them before each picture session. Good luck.

Ches.