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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;christopherw303, post: 1231259, member: 22177&quot;]<b>Coin Photography- a few basics</b></p><p><br /></p><p>I have been taking shooting photos of coins for sale on eBay since 2005, and would like to offer a few pointers.</p><p><br /></p><p>In order to take great coin photographs, you are going to need the following: a clean, dust free environment; adequate lighting; and either a decent camera, or a good scanner. </p><p><br /></p><p>1.) Camera: Digital cameras are getting more and more advanced every year, with formerly high-end features now trickling down to even the most basic models. My personal camera is a Nikon D3000 Digital SLR, it is at the bottom of the SLR range for Nikon, but has all of the features you need to shoot great photographs. You can pick one up new for around $450. When I first started shooting coin photographs, however, I did not have the advantage of an SLR camera; I was using a cheap, point-and-shoot digital camera ($&gt;100), and still got good results. The important thing to look for in your camera is that there is a Macro setting, usually this will be indicated on the camera body by an icon that looks like a flower. When you are using this setting, the camera&#039;s computer knows that you are trying to focus on something small (like a coin) and will automatically adjust the focus appropriately. The other feature that you&#039;ll need is to be able to disable the flash, otherwise your coins will appear over-exposed and washed out. Another feature which is very helpful is anti-vibration; this used to be only available on very expensive cameras, but is getting more and more affordable. This feature allows your camera to compensate for your shaky hand, thus rendering the use of a tripod unnecessary.</p><p><br /></p><p>2.) Scanner: A good scanner is capable of producing a decent image of a coin, but I prefer not to do it this way. You will need to be able adjust the exposure of the scanner to compensate for the high reflectivity of the coin, and not all scanners are capable of doing this. Even if your scanner is capable, and the resulting image is an accurate reproduction of your coin, your image will never have the character or warmth of a quality photograph (if that&#039;s what you&#039;re after).</p><p><br /></p><p>3.) Lighting: This is the most critical factor in obtaining great coin photos. Ideally, you should use only natural light, as I do. Direct sun, however, will over-expose your coin photographs, in the same way that a scanner can. Therefore, the sunlight should be diffuse- like what you see on a foggy or overcast day. To reproduce this effect, I use is what is called a light tent, and I place this next to my window when the sun is shining through. If it is a foggy or overcast day, then I don&#039;t need to use the light tent. If you are unable to use natural light, and must use artificial, I&#039;ve found that standard incandescent bulbs work best. The new compact fluorescent bulbs are horrible for photography, you&#039;ll never get a decent shot using them in a million years. </p><p><br /></p><p>4.) Getting the shot: Experiment! You&#039;ll need to take lots of shots to get only a few good ones, especially at first. Try shooting the camera at different lengths from the coin, and at different angles. If it is a proof coin, it is helpful to have either a black background (when shooting at an angle) or a black outfit to wear (when shooting straight-on) as this is the color that will be reflected in the fields of the coin. For best results, you&#039;ll need to remove the coin from it&#039;s capsule or sleeve, though you must be very careful so as to not damage the coin. </p><p><br /></p><p>5.) Image editing: Once you have your shot, you&#039;ll need to be able to edit it to make it look great online. Currently I am using Adobe Photoshop CS4, it is a very expensive program but one of the very best out there. You don&#039;t need to spend a whole lot of money, however; even the basic Microsoft picture editor that comes for free with every version of Windows will allow you to make all of the changes you&#039;ll need. Basically, you are going to need to crop your image, and then save it in a format and size that will make it possible to send over the internet. You&#039;ll want your final image to be in JPEG format, and 5 MB or less in size.&nbsp; If you are fortunate enough to have access to Adobe Photoshop, these are the 5 most important adjustments you&#039;ll eventually want to make with almost every coin photo: Auto Tone; Auto Color; Shadow/Highlight; Brightness/Contrast; and Exposure.</p><p><br /></p><p>Hopefully, this reply has given you some issues to consider when planning your next coin shoot.</p><p><br /></p><p>Christopher Neal Wyatt</p><p><a href="http://superiorbullion.com" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://superiorbullion.com" rel="nofollow">http://superiorbullion.com</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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