Photographing Coins:

@lou, yes I get the feeling that my phone is also adding an unasked-for AI component to pics. I'm going to move your thread over to our photography subforum in case someone there has some ideas.

Rarely do I use my iPhone for taking pictures of my coins. I'm on the way overkill side of the equation using my Pentax K1 full frame DSLR on a tripod with a 90mm 1:1 macro lens. My lighting are strobes that are triggered by the shutter. For shots like this. You can enlarge it as well.

Sorry, I just saw this. I'll get a picture of my setup sometime tomorrow.

Very interesting layouts on both , thanks for posting.

Thanks jbuck!

Thanks Dearborn. My setup cost is not for the faint of heart but when it's your profession.

My first attempt with my Galaxy S23. Pointing down over edge of small book stack, single source 4k LED set back across coin. Manual settings. It could be a lot better but it will work for now.

I noticed this thread was active again and I thought I'd add a few of my thoughts.

I think the original post mentioned a concern about the AI capabilities of a phone unexpectedly enhancing pictures taken with the phone. I suspect this is caused by the settings for the phone and/or the camera app specifically. These days the default settings for the phone and apps tend to try to get the most out of the phone's capabilities including it's AI/smart features. I would check the settings to minimize any unwanted behaviour.

I use an iPhone 16 and a camera app called Yamera for my photos. Yamera has a premium version but I use the basic/free version. I'll call my setup inexpensive.

I'm not an expert photographer and I've only been photographing coins in earnest for a short time but I feel like I've learned a few things.

I've seen the results folks have posted who have different setups. There is no doubt that the more elaborate the setup and gear the better the pictures. Still, there are a few things that have a big impact on the results no matter what you use in my opinion.

Proper focus and good lighting are two important aspects of your setup. Other things that come into play are stabilizing the camera, the size of the coin/feature you are trying to capture, and the size of the coin/feature relative to the picture boundaries. Still others include image format (e.g., jpeg, etc), and methods/apps to post-process the image into the format you want for posting or archiving. These are a few.

Yamera has two camera modes, macro and non-macro. In non-macro mode I find having the camera about 6" from the coin is the ballpark for proper focus with my iPhone. In macro mode which I use for close-ups I've been using a distance of maybe 3". Proper lighting becomes a challenge here. Yamera also allows you to focus manually which can be helpful.

With lighting I try not to wash out the coin, and avoid shadows that are a pain to eliminate later.

For image composition I use a 1:1 (square) aspect ration and leave enough room around the coin to rotate later if needed to show the coin in the proper orientation.

I know there's more and there are other threads on here with more helpful insights and ideas but these are what I've found helpful for my situation.