The trouble with Coin Photography

In my time as a member here I have seen some amazing photographs of coins in peoples collections. I was first captured by PCGS Tru Views and the way they were able to get the images of coins in all their glory. I was soon exposed to more amazing images by members in this forum such as @robec, @brg5658 @Justin Lee @Lehigh96 and so many more that it would take a few post just to list the amazing work of members here. I remember taking time with Robec and him walking me through the process of imaging my coins. I never quite got the hang of it as I worked with the tools I had and they were not the best for the images I wanted to capture. Eventually life happened and I had to put my collecting and personal aspirations of being Robecs apprentice and had to go away for a while. I returned and I came back with a nifty new find that made some of my imaging a whole lot better.

For my birthday my wife purchased a macro lens for my iPhone, now before we start off in this topic regarding which phone is better and what lenses are better from amazon and so on, I use the iPhone because it is a tool in my hand, as for lenses well I have tried many from Amazon and Ebay and other locations and they just plane sucked lol. Anyways on with my story, my wife purchased this Macro lens from an online store called Moment and let me tell you... I was so concerned in telling my wife that the lease would never capture what I wanted, but boy was I in for a surprise. Now I am not much for advertising for companies and well I don't get paid for it so I won't say much about the lease but I have to say it has done amazing things for me. I still have much to learn and much to apply with regards of my imaging but I wanted to present some of what I have done and I am also hoping for feedback. Good, Bad or ugly I will be great full for any feedback received. Thanks for your time and have an amazing day.

 

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1936 Lincoln 1c Toned

 

Please watch this link as it is to a find I made of a 1974 d penny mule Clashed with a 1974 d dime that was a flipover in collar and 30 percent mirrored brockage. Thanks, mike

 

Angled shots to show color of coin

 

I like the close ups but there seems to be a shadow that appears near the six o'clock on every photo. Maybe an additional light can take care of that?

 

Focusing looks good. Look at the white balance in the camera settings on your phone

 

Thank you, I normally set my lights at 10 and 2 and since my phone sits so close because of the macro lens I can’t fit a light at the 6 position. I’ll try to see if I can find something to correct that.

 

Thank you, any recommendations on the white balance? + or -

 

Trial and error depending on your lighting. Leaving your lighting the same, try one up and one down from the zero setting. No after processing and put them each side of your original on the screen. Then you can compare and see if a further adjustment is required to the level, Then do the same with your lighting positions. It;s all about working with what you got and making it work to your best advantage

 

well for taking Photos of coins and such I have an old C525 HD 720P autofocus Logitech webcam and a LED desk lamp with about 12 Mini LEDs in it, it seems to do ok but it takes lots of trying to get the right photo

 

I would try a little less direct light and put two light sources off at an angle. That will make the luster pop

 

Do you use some kind of a stand for the phone?

 

Yes I recently purchased a stand for my phone and a Bluetooth remote for taking the pictures that way there is no shack in taking the pictures.

 

With the phone very close to the coin, you're going to have difficulty with lighting. The colors look a little washed out, but can be recovered a bit if you do a little post-processing: