First Attempt Posting Pic

Okay been doing some more experimenting. Limited resources so I think they are coming along well. Let me know what you think. They are close to actual color but the full size pictures(not sure if this is common or not)darkened when saved as .jpeg from the photo editing program.



And here is my super low tech setup lol. Cheap 8 megapixel camera used.

First of all, nice coins...

Second: On the IHC, I think your white balance (WB) is off, hence the pinkish cast to the coin and the surrounding holder. I also see a bit of pinkish cast on the half dollar, too. That indicates that your WB setting is too warm.

Third: on your observation that the pictures seem to "darken" when converted to jpeg or when posted. I've found the same thing when posting (I typically use Photobucket.) I have no idea why it might work that way, but usually try to boost the brigthness about 1/3-1/2 f/stop over what I would use if simply viewing the picture on my monitor. FWIW.

And, lastly...nothing wrong with your "low tech" set-up. I would suggest experimenting with a second light source at 90-180 degrees from the first. Just a thought.

Your IHC pics are far too small, 290x284 and only 5k. Resize your original to about 800x600 or slightly less to get below the forum limit of 100k. Also, see if your cam has a manual white balance setting. Setup your lights, put a white piece of paper down and set the white balance to that.