That sounds like a quiet kind of poetry, watching a tooth catch a glint and turn the next. The trick will be to let the light linger long enough to trace the motion, but not so long that it smears the detail. Keep your lens at a slight angle—just enough to read the depth on the gears—then capture a burst of frames and let the rhythm play out in post. It’s a good idea to test the light source first; a small LED panel can give you that sharp, even illumination without the glare that ruins the fine ridges. If you can sync the shutter to the gear's cadence, you’ll get that living clockwork feel you’re after. Just remember, a gear that looks perfect in one shot might miss the subtle wobble that makes motion feel real. So maybe shoot a couple of variations and let the one with the natural imperfection win.

I’ll keep the shutter at a steady 1/125 and tweak the frame rate to the gear’s exact rpm, then add a slight slow‑motion offset to let that jitter sneak in. Thanks for the heads up—watching the light slip over the teeth is the best kind of meditation. Good luck to you too.