I got a digital camera now and I want to learn how to take pics of coins. It is a Nikon with 7.1 pixels.
Make sure you have adequate light and the camera is directly over the coin....not at an angle. Use a tripod or copy stand to reduce camera movement and blurry photos. Do you have photo software to crop and resize the images? When resizing your images tp post them, don't make them any larger than 640x480. Remember, it's digital so if a photo looks crappy, just delete it and take another shot. Post some of your test photos, and we can offer suggestions, if necessary. Chris
Just search on pictures and you should get a whole bunch of posts. I recommend search for 2 threads started by lehigh96 (I think that is paul's id) on taking pictures. I don't have the links here or I would include them.
Does the camera have a built in macro feature? While the point in shots with built in macro's leave a lot to be desired vs. their SLR counterparts.....with practice and free advice you can still generate super quality shots. Focus, lighting, & white balance are the keys so if your camera comes with a custom white balance setting I would learn how to use that very quickly along with the macro. As for shooting the coin straight on....while I agree with this method for the most part, I found that shooting toned coins with a point and shoot camera required me to angle the coin to get the best shots. Post so trial pictures and we can start providing some pointers.
Below is a list of Numismatic Photography threads from recent-past CT discussions that I've saved and post on occasion when I see members starting out in coin imaging. Have a look through some of these, you might find some useful tips and techniques: Numismatography Book Review – Numismatic Photography by Mark Goodman Great Coin Photos! How do you take them? Photoshop your pictures to make professional looking images Diffused Lighting Coin Photography (Capture the Color) How Best To Photogragh Coins Axial Lighting System ... Or Not Axial Lighting (continued) Lighting direction when photographing ancient coins Scanning coins Trying to get better pictures... Cheap Coin Photography
all of the links krispy posted are great and very helpful. also a lot of practice is involved, trial and error...
