Whats Wrong With This Picture?

Welcome to the forum!

The image itself seems quite detailed. However, if the coin is not really gold, you need to adjust the "color balance" for your camera. If it is a relatively new digital camera, there should be a simple procedure for setting it, and most hold the setting. On mine, I just go to a specific menu and choose the icon for color balance ( the manual helps ) and then focus on a sheet of white paper and push a button sequence. This adjusts the color of the photo to the lights you use. Yours look like it was set for "daylight" color and then used with incandescent lights.

Your photo shows well, the marks and such, but doesn't show any luster that might be there. Usually this is because the light needs to be adjusted to get some reflection, not blind out the image, but allows the "sparkle".

For decent grading, luster is usually need for any EF or higher, especially MS grades, without it the coin looks over dipped or problemed.

So if possible try photos with the lighting ( or maybe better 2 lights) at different angles, recording what you do, until the results look best.

Jim

Axial lighting does approach a good medium, but is sometime difficult to get an autofocus camera to find the right point. I do use it often for the larger coins like halves and dollars ( Morgan/Peace). Practice and experimentation does help. I look forward to some of your coin photos!

Jim

Does this look like your coin in-hand?




This can be done after the shot with photo editing software. I used Microsoft picture mgr that's included most MS operating systems.