Recently, I have been trying to improve my coin photography. I have settled into a method that seems to be giving me good and, more importantly to me, consistent results. In this little article, I will outline what I am currently doing and the reasons behind it.

1. Camera: I am using a Panasonic FZ7, 4.3 mega-pixel camera. However, most any decent camera will do the trick. One thing to keep an eye on is that it has a dedicated 'Macro Mode'. This feature allows you to take close up pictures of small items. Depending upon the camera, it also allows you to get close to the item that you are taking a picture of. This is referred to as the minimum focal distance. A macro mode is a must for taking coin pictures.

2. Lighting: Lighting is probably the most important item when taking any coin picture. You need to have a consistent lighting setup to allow you to take similar pictures over and over again. You don't want to try and re-invent the wheel every time you take a photo.

     There are several factors that, in my mind, go into choosing the proper lighting. The first is the color of the lighting. Regular household bulbs cast a yellowish light. Regular fluorescent bulbs cast a bluish light. Natural sunlight is the standard as it is a mixture of light that gives us the color we are used to.

     Another factor in lighting is the brightness. If your lights are not bright enough, your pictures will come out dark or your camera will not be able to focus properly. If the light is too bright, you can over expose the coin and cause 'hot spots'. These are areas on the coin that are so bright that all detail is missing and they show up as just white areas on the coin..

     One thing you will not typically be able to do is use your camera's flash. Although it is a natural colored light, it will reflect off the coin way too brightly and cause the entire coin to wash out.

     Although there are many different types of bulbs out there, I have chosen to use GE, soft white, 'corkscrew' type fluorescent bulbs. I have found these lights have a fairly natural, white color with less yellow than a regular incandescent bulb. In addition, I have found that the light is spread out over a more even area. This leads to less hot spots and easier positioning of lighting. I place these bulbs in 2 goose-neck lamps bought from Walmart for a few dollars each.

3. Camera Settings: Depending upon the camera you have, it may or may not have a lot of settings. The camera that I own includes a Manual Mode that allows you to set custom White Balance to correct the color of various light conditions. It also has various focusing, ISO, and other settings that a true camera buff would know what to do with. Of course, if you are a photo expert, you are probably not reading this article!

     I am not a photographer. I am a point and shoot hack. So, I have adjusted my lighting and other variables in order to leave my camera in its most basic Auto Mode. It chooses what it thinks are the best settings and takes the shot. It seems to know what it is doing better than I do.

     The only settings I change on my camera are to place it in Macro Mode (discussed above) and to set the timer on it. The timer allows the camera to count down (3 seconds in my case) after you press the shutter button. At the end of the countdown, it then it takes the photo on its own. I have found that this eliminates any shaking from my hands when I press the shutter button leading to clearer photos. Some people have steady enough hands to take pictures in different ways but I do not.

4. Camera/Coin/Light Positioning: This is a step that will require some thought and trial and error to get everything  just the way you want. Fortunately, with digital cameras, there is no film to waste and you can see your results immediately.

     There are many stands and setups that you can buy. These include light tables, copy stands, and other special setups. In my case, I am cheap. Very cheap. I take pictures for fun and did not want to spend a hundred or more dollars on a set up for my camera.

     Instead, I went to Best Buy and bought a mini-tripod. It was around $15. The only problem with a tripod is that it has a tendency to want to fall over when the camera is on it and pointed straight down. So, I taped 3 rolls of Lincoln Cents to one leg. This provided the needed stability and since I am a coin collector, I have plenty of cents laying around. I told you I am cheap.

     What I do next is place the coin on top of a small piece of plastic (I use the top off of a plastic dime roll) and set it all on top of a block of wood that has a white piece of paper on top of the block. This does several things to help in my pictures:

Setting the coin above the background on a small piece of plastic allows my camera to focus only on the coin and not get confused by the background underneath. This one tip has improved the sharpness of my photos dramatically.

The white piece of paper allows my camera to better understand what is true white depending upon the light that it is receiving. I believe this helps it correct the overall color to a truer shade even when the light has a slight yellow tint.

The block of wood just provides a stable base and gets the coin a little closer to the camera lens, if needed.

Finally, I place my 2 goose-neck lights so that they illuminate the coin the best without causing any hot spots. This typically is both of them angled down at the coin, on opposite sides of the coin, and anywhere from a few inches to a foot or so above the coin.

5. Conclusion and Pictures: In this article, I have tried to outline the steps I use to take coin pictures. I am no expert and my images are not the best out there by any stretch of the imagination. Hopefully, however, this article will help you if you are just starting out or at least give you some ideas to try on your own to improve your setup.

     Bellow are some pictures of my setup (with an old camera standing in for my Nikon) and a couple of coin pictures I just took.

Camera Setup:

Close Up of Camera Setup:

Low Grade Barber Quarter:

Higher Grade Morgan Dollar:

For more photography related tips and discussion, you can go here...DigitalPhotoPeople.com

The End! Happy Photo Taking! - Stujoe