Coin Imaging and Digital Photography

Some notes on taking pictures of hard-to-light, small objects such as jewelry.

Taking good quality pictures of coins can seem intimidating. However, there are some simple techniques which even amateur photographers can use to obtain dramatic results with minimal effort. The following examples show the basic setup that should allow anyone to achieve results they can be proud of.

The secret of realistic and pleasing likenesses of your prized coins lies not in the camera, but rather in the lighting. Thus lighting and lighting techniques will be our focus.

Recent developments in digital cameras have made it possible to produce good quality images of coins using fairly inexpensive equipment. These digital files can also be printed out on an ink jet printer to make hard copies that can be useful for identification purposes.

The following is not intended to imply this is the one and only method to produce images of coins, but it is the one that I have found to produce the best images - it works for me, but your milage may vary. The details are rather hardware and software dependent, but should be able to be generalized to other equipment and image processing packages.