Photographing Coins

The key to good coin photography is lighting. Unfortunately, many P&S cameras don't allow good lighting due to short working distances. Many folks doing photomacrography or photomicrography have solved this by using specialized lighting systems optimized for short distances. Half PingPong balls or Whiffle balls as diffusers, for example. There are many games you can play to compensate short working distance in order to make use of the less expensive cameras, and get good results...Ray

 

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I saw that on reddit! so many people from /r/coins are here!

 

Hah! So there are.

 

Is there any specific techniques for photographing toned coins? I have a few pennies that have toning but whenever I try photographing it, the picture just makes the coin look dull.
This was the best I was able to get, when I take a photo from directly overhead it looks gray.


I also have a few coins from the 1960's and 70's that have purple and blue toning on them that look bright to the naked eye but look brown in photos. I've tried using natural light but it doesn't seem to help. Maybe I just need a better camera. Also, do you think using a scanner would help with close up shots like for mint marks?

 

Scanners stink for taking pics of coins. I think Doug is the only person who had good results using one.

As for the tonners, try backing off the exposure setting on the camera a couple of clicks and then brightening up the coin with your photo editing program.

 

Looks like old Abe has an afro... LOL!

 

For toned coins, taking the pic straight on and then getting the light at as high an angle as possible (including axial) usually works. I find that 75-deg or higher is best to bring out the colors. Some folks build axial lighting setups and this is a good option for darker, deeply-toned coins or toned proofs. Your coin looks like it would image fine at 75-80deg.

 

I'll give it a shot, thanks