I am having a heck of a time taking pics of my slabbed coins. I can't escape the glare. What advice do you have. Where is the coin in relation to the light and the camera in relation to the light?
I have been experimenting, and still haven't found that sweet spot. I'm going to keep my eye on this thread.
You need to make sure you have the necessary equipment. You will need the following: Digital Camera with macro mode Copy stand Two gooseneck desk lamps Two florescent light bulbs A slabbed coin The reason why most people take poor coin photos is because they simply can't get enough light on the coin. They resort to placing the lights close to the surface of the coin at a very low angle. This will yield terrible results, don't do it. Here are my hints for take professional quality coin photos. Place the two desk lamps at 10 & 2 o'clock in relation to the the coin. The lights should be at least 12 inches away from the coin and pointing almost directly straight down (high angle). Position the camera on the copy stand with at least 6 inches between the surface of the coin and the lens of the camera. If you are not 6 inches away, the camera will block the light from reaching the coin. Place the coin on the copy stand and turn on the camera and put it in macro mode. Zoom in until the coin is as large as possible on the view screen and you can still focus the camera. Enable the timer on your camera so that the photo is taken in a delay. Without this, there will be vibration when you press the button causing focus & clarity problems. Place a coin or casino chip under the bottom edge of the slab. This will tilt the coin into the light and reduce the shadow caused by the camera. When photographing toned coins it might be better two use two coins or casino chips in the tilting process. Do not use more than two or you will end up with portions of your photo that are out of focus. This is related to a limited depth of focus in macro mode. Position the lights so that the outer ring of the light comes as close as possible to the edge of the coin. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! DO NOT LET THE LIGHT OVERLAP THE COIN! If the light overlaps the coin you will end up with slab glare in your photo 100% of the time. Here is what your photo should look like if you have followed my hints: Note that the light does not overlap the surface of the coin. I can't stress how important that is. The bright inner light is from the bulb itself and the outer ring is from the shade of the lamp. The coin is fully illuminated and the photo captured detail, color, and luster. Once you have a photo of this quality, you can use a photo editing software to crop, size, and adjust brightness & contrast to produce your finished result which would look something like this: I hope you guys find these hints helpful and remember that there is no substitute for experience. If you take thousands of photos with the intention of learning and improving your skills, over time, it will happen. I also suggest that anyone serious about taking great photos buy Mark Goodman's book NUMISMATIC PHOTOGRAPHY.
Thanks I knew you would have some advice. I was placing a single jefferson nickel under the slab to tilt it. Maybe I need to find something a bit thicker like that of a poker chip. I am using an ott light, but maybe I need to add an additional one to help balance the light out.
