Just Starting Out...help Me Take Better Coin Photo's.

Are you as close as you can get to the coin with these shots? Did you downsize the image after cropping, or is this 100% pixel level? No camera produces sharp images at 100% pixel level, so your goal as a coin photographer is to make the coin on the sensor at least twice as big as you want to publish. 3x or 4x is even better but requires higher magnification than your iPhone can provide without add-on lens.

You are using only one light, so there are blown-out highlights even on a worn Cent. Add a second light to improve the exposure evenness.

You should also take care to make the coin level. Liberty should be flat, as should ONE CENT and USofA.

It also looks like you're shooting at a slight angle, ie with the coin not flat vs the camera. This will create areas with poor focus, as is happening at the top of the obverse and bottom of the reverse. Hold the camera flat vs the coin to avoid this.

So basically, just a couple modifications to how you're taking the shot, and some post-processing to improve on the basic results, and you'll have a much better image.

Here is your obverse shot, with some rotation (lost a bit of the edge of coin in process...), some levels adjustments, and a 2x downsize:

I did not downsize after cropping. Is this something I can do with an iPhone? You are right about only using one light... I will have to buy another light. I will also make sure the camera is level with the coin. Thanks for all these recommendations.

Were you able to crop with the iPhone? I assumed you used a program on a computer. Did you just snap the pic, crop it, and send it out to the forum? Is everyone LIVING in their iPhones now? That is a scary proposition. If you are expecting to do everything in your iPhone, then what you had initially is probably the best you can do.




Yes, better. Better focused. Will be even better with another light. But the pic is smaller. Did you move closer, and then downsize the image? What other things did you do versus the first images. This one is too dark, so you need to adjust gamma.

try building a platform or bridge so that the iPhone sits 4" above the coin, then zoom in so the coin fills 3/4 of the screen.

your recent shots look like you were far away and tried to zoom in to make up for it.

not sure if the 5s camera is the same as the 4s but you should be able to get excellent (non-pro) results.

I think they look pretty much the same...do you see something I don't?

I was 4 inches and I zoomed in until the coin occupied 3/4 of the screen.

any Encased Coin can be tough, getting copper toning correct can also be a pain, but there seems to be some pixelation issue going on (your last pics are much better).

it could be the lights you are using, either spectrum (most LEDs are around 3000K, where as 5000k-6000k is closer to natural daylight) or that the lights are too close.

try a non slabbed copper using natural daylight OR a 5000k (daylight) fluorescent bulb and post the results.

also, are you tapping the screen to set a focal point? I find that this will also help reset the "exposure"/saturation levels.

heres a few iPhone 4s shots - its just a matter of practice (unless the 5s has a different camera). far from pro quality but then again I don't take pictures for a living!

Hkjai, rather than dropping random comments/questions in other peoples' threads, you'd be far better served by starting a thread of your own if you wish to improve your coin photography. Post what you're currently using for a setup - camera, lighting, etc - and a couple examples of the results you're currently getting. We'll be happy to help.