Fractography is an indispensable technique involving observation of the fractured surface for assessing the modes and causes responsible for failure. Despite its widespread application, fractography involves many inherent obstacles, such as preservation of surface, difficulty in proper illumination of the surface, limited depth of field of optical microscopes and risk of damage to the optical system through contact with the rough fractured surface. The paper discusses some experimental procedures, viz. diffuse lighting, focal plane shifting and digital image processing techniques for offsetting many of these obstacles.