Coin photography

I'm just starting to take pictures of my coins. As you can see by my examples, my snaps leave a lot to be desired. What hints do you veteran photographers have? I have a little point and shoot camera, but I haven't gotten the hang of it yet. What settings should I use on the camera? How should I approach lighting? I think the old green towel makes a decent backdrop, but the pictures are mediocre. What am I doing wrong?

Here is the camera I have: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-SD1100IS-Digital-Stabilized/dp/B0012YC7AE

 

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http://www.tabletopstudio.com/documents/coin_photography.htm

 

Danke.

 

You say "you haven't got the hang of it yet". This tells me you need a better understanding of the basics of photography before you can produce any photograph of good quality. Using auto settings will give you problems that you do not understand.

 

Study this and practice, practice, practice.
http://coinimaging.com/index.html

 

My biggest problem right now is working around the shadows. I have a decent desk lamp that does a good job illuminating the subject of the photo but the shadows are a problem. I don't have any problem taking non-macro photos with my camera or even my phone camera.

 

The links Asylum and I provided have the answers to your problems.

 

I am in the market for a scope/camera set-up for my coin photography. One item I am considering is the Amscope model shown in the following link: http://www.amscope.com/sm-1tz-frl-gt-8m.html

Anyone familiar with this brand/model or have an opinion?

 

True and agreed. One does need to acquaint themselves with basic knowledge of photography, otherwise one will never be satisfied with the results of what they're shooting. The digital age has brought many improvements and shortcuts to the art of photography. No longer do I have to hang around the 'one hour' photo booth to see the results of my workings. I can view them in real time, indeed. Upon saying (writing) that.....shoot tons of pics of your subject, move the lighting around the subject to get the best pics and true life results, and above all, have patience. It ain't easy to achieve spectacular results with a camera that doesn't allow you to manipulate F-stops and shutter speed......but it can be done.

 

Get TWO decent desklamps, that should take care of most of the shadow issues.

Some people even use three, but I always seem to mange to burn my face with three