How do I photograph my coins?
We want to make coin photography simple. Photographing your coin might prove to be a little difficult at times when you first are trying to figure it out. The main thing you want to consider when attempting to photograph a coin is how much light you have on your subject. The more light you have the better you can control the outcome of the final photograph. If you’re using a cell phone camera with some sort of macro lens attachment, medium light should work. If you’re using a macro lens on DSLR or a Full Frame camera, make sure you have lots of light!
What kind of lights do I need?
There are many kinds of lights you can try to use with tons of different bulbs. When it comes to lighting my coins, the best kind of lighting is LED lights. LED lights are normally always bright white lighting and don’t give off harsh colors. You want to avoid lighting that is considered too warm or saturated. This might make coins appear gold colored or warmer than in real life which could throw misrepresent your coin in an online sale.
Please make sure to buy LED lights with white lights. I find that these lights work best as they can clamp on to whatever surface you’re working on! These also work with a USB phone charger and the clamp doubles as a stand. The ring can also be utilized by sticking a camera lens through it giving your subject a nice ring light style photo.
Clip on Reading Lights – iVict 24 LED USB Book Clamp Light
How to photograph coins with phone
Phone cameras have come a long way and they now are able to take very good photos. They do have trouble with super small details that can show up on coins from time to time. When taking pictures of coins with your phone you will likely need a way to set your phone up to keep it steady. Any shaking or movement will mess up the small detail you’re trying to capture. If you have a tripod that works with your phone, that is great! If not, you might need to get a little bit creative..
How to set up your phone
Set your phone up with two of the lights we mentioned above aimed on the coin. You might need to re-arrange it a little bit because direct lighting might make it too bright and blow out your image. Just ensure the coin is lit nicely and set your phone up in the correct spot to keep it steady. If you need to still adjust the brightness or zoom in, do so before taking the photograph. Once you’re ready to take a picture of the coin, press the capture button as gently as possible as to not disturb the camera when it is taking the picture. If you’re able to set up a 2 second timer, that works the best. It gives the camera a second to stop moving after your finger hits it before taking the final shot.
How to set up your camera
When setting up your camera, all you need to do is place your macro lens on the camera and set your camera up on it’s tripod. As I mentioned before I use a Sony a6400 so make sure you’re using the correct settings for your specific camera. I usually try to keep my coin photos around f 5.6/ ISO 600 / 1/100. This means the cameras aperature will be 5.6 giving the coins background a little bit of a blur without blurring the front of the coin too much. The ISO is artificial light which will help fill in detail that your two light setup isn’t achieving. The 1/100 is the shutter speed which is just how fast the shutter on the camera is which is 1/100th of a second. Once the camera is all set up, simply click the shutter button and take a picture. Set the camera to take a 2 second delay which as previously mentioned will help the camera stop shaking for a second to take a very clear and detailed shot.
How to choose a macro lens for your phone.
You can find a macro lens for your phone very inexpensively on Amazon. I would recommend finding a lens that works specifically with your phone. Make sure the lens you purchase includes a macro lens which will give you the ability to get very close to your coin to get the tiny details you can hardly see with your eye. They usually run around $50-$100 max.
How to choose a macro lens for your camera.
Choosing a macro lens for photographing coins can be hard to do. There are so many lenses on the market and you need to decide which one is in your price range. You also need to ensure which one is the best fit for the brand of camera you have. Since I have a Sony, in this section I’ll tell you which Sony lenses I think are the best for macro coin photography.
The lens I currently have is a:
Sony 30mm f/3.5 Macro E-Mount lens
It takes quite nice pictures and the detail in all the shots with it are always crisp and look great. The lens is wider angle and gives it a nice focal length to allow you to get close up and see all of it’s detail on the coin. This lens is a fixed focal length or “prime” lens so you’re not able to zoom with it. If you’d like to see more images with this lens, check out my Instagram!
If you’d like a lens you’re able to be able to get a little further away from your subject with I would recommend getting another Sony lens which would be the:
Sony 90mm f/2.8-22 Macro G OSS
The 90mm medium telephoto macro E-mount lens features built in image stabilization for sharp, clear images at up to 1:1 magnification, even when shooting handheld. It’s a great all around macro lens and shoots amazing photos with the right setup. It works best with a tripod of course. This lens will get you much closer to the detail without having to get so close to your subject. With the lens I have above (30mm) I have to get SO close to the thing I’m shooting because of it’s focal length. It is kind of a pain but hey, I’m saving my money !!
What now?
If you need more information regarding how to set up your camera for macro coin photography, please be sure to see this video below! It can greatly help you set up your coin photos if I wasn’t clear enough.
Keep practicing taking photos of your coins and you will get better each time. Learning how to light them correctly and make sure you get the most amount of detail is very imporant and hard to master at times! With repetition, you’ll be taking great photographs of your collection in no time. This will lead to more sales, likes, and interactions with your audience! Happy Hunting!