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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Lehigh96, post: 858657, member: 15309&quot;]You need to make sure you have the necessary equipment.&nbsp; You will need the following:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><ul> <li>Digital Camera with macro mode</li> <li>Copy stand</li> <li>Two gooseneck desk lamps</li> <li>Two florescent light bulbs</li> <li>A slabbed coin</li> </ul><p>The reason why most people take poor coin photos is because they simply can&#039;t get enough light on the coin.&nbsp; They resort to placing the lights close to the surface of the coin at a very low angle.&nbsp; This will yield terrible results, don&#039;t do it.&nbsp; Here are my hints for take professional quality coin photos.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><ul> <li>Place the two desk lamps at 10 &amp; 2 o&#039;clock in relation to the the coin.&nbsp; The lights should be at least 12 inches away from the coin and pointing almost directly straight down (high angle).</li> <li>Position the camera on the copy stand with at least 6 inches between the surface of the coin and the lens of the camera.&nbsp; If you are not 6 inches away, the camera will block the light from reaching the coin.</li> <li>Place the coin on the copy stand and turn on the camera and put it in macro mode.&nbsp; Zoom in until the coin is as large as possible on the view screen and you can still focus the camera.</li> <li>Enable the timer on your camera so that the photo is taken in a delay.&nbsp; Without this, there will be vibration when you press the button causing focus &amp; clarity problems.</li> <li>Place a coin or casino chip under the bottom edge of the slab.&nbsp; This will tilt the coin into the light and reduce the shadow caused by the camera.</li> <li>When photographing toned coins it might be better two use two coins or casino chips in the tilting process.&nbsp; Do not use more than two or you will end up with portions of your photo that are out of focus.&nbsp; This is related to a limited depth of focus in macro mode.</li> <li>Position the lights so that the outer ring of the light comes as close as possible to the edge of the coin.&nbsp; THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!&nbsp; DO NOT LET THE LIGHT OVERLAP THE COIN!&nbsp; If the light overlaps the coin you will end up with slab glare in your photo 100% of the time.</li> </ul><p>Here is what your photo should look like if you have followed my hints:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels%204%20Sale/121809004.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Note that the light does not overlap the surface of the coin.&nbsp; I can&#039;t stress how important that is.&nbsp; The bright inner light is from the bulb itself and the outer ring is from the shade of the lamp.&nbsp; The coin is fully illuminated and the photo captured detail, color, and luster.&nbsp; Once you have a photo of this quality, you can use a photo editing software to crop, size, and adjust brightness &amp; contrast to produce your finished result which would look something like this:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels%204%20Sale/JeffersonNickel1943-DNGCMS676FSReve.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>I hope you guys find these hints helpful and remember that there is no substitute for experience.&nbsp; If you take thousands of photos with the intention of learning and improving your skills, over time, it will happen.&nbsp; I also suggest that anyone serious about taking great photos buy Mark Goodman&#039;s book NUMISMATIC PHOTOGRAPHY.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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