I know a long time ago Michael showed pictures of his setup and pointers of what he did, however I can no longer find the thread and most likely none of the pics are available anymore due to the Photobucket debacle. Anyway I am going to build a stand so I can stand the gun vertical for picture taking. I assume the stand is basically has a cross for a base with a rod protruding vertically in which the barrel is slipped over. The rod of course made of material such that it doesn't damage the bore. Anyway if you have any suggestions or cautions or comments please share them.
Now, pics are not easy to post but if you have some let me know and I will see if I can figure out a way to post. I think Fred may help also as he seems to have figured it out. We can only ask. PM me and I can share an email address I use.
Thanks in advance.

Hi Lynn

Always glad to help. I tried to find Michael's postings and got
this

"if you have Steven Dodd Hughes book “Custom Rifles in Black & White” look on page 182. I use a setup a lot like his, rifle is held vertical on a polished steel rod in the bore. Reflected light from 2-500 and 2-250 3200 photo lights with defuser, all on a rheostat. For the Springfield I lowered the light until I got a nice soft light and used a long exposure, tripod of course. With digital I can do many shots with a faster or slower exposure in a short amount of time and just delete the bad ones. When I shoot engraving I have two leather straps hanging from the ceiling and shoot the gun in the horizontal position and use a hand held light (defused) to highlight the engraving. Background put in later with software Photoshop Elements. I have several colored backgrounds but will get some more, I think the picture can look better with a background and not added by the computer, but the jury is still out"

it is from this long thread.

one of Michael's photography threads

Fred

It is a sad state when a company like Photobucket can delete this quantity of wonderful pictures.

I have heard there is a work-around to get at Photobucket photos. I think it requires one to download an app or something similar, but that's all I know.

Brent

Maybe a discussion of photobucket is out of place on this thread. This thread is about taking pictures of guns.

One thing to keep in mind is that the background used will have an effect upon the camera's exposure. I have had my best results when taking photos of engraving, especially on bare metal using bloodwood which is a brownish red colored hardwood. You should experiment to see how background affects you camera.

Thanks for the comment and advice Sam

There is a detailed description of my methods, photo and lighting gear and techniques on pages 181-182 of Custom Rifles. That explanation and the photographs themselves say more than I can in this format.