Which one looks better?

[Deerefan8420]

Been playing around with my camera and taking some pictures of my Proof Franklin Halves. They are already graded and I am satisfied with the grade. Just wanted some opinions on the pictures and the quality. I know the lighting on the '58 Franklin is a bit bright but any and all suggestions are welcomed!

 

1958 Franklin

 

1962

[messydesk]

Your lights are too low. The only time you want black fields on a proof is when you're showing off the white, cameo devices.

 

On both coins, you have areas of saturated black and saturated white. Raise and soften your lights and you'll get better pictures. You want to greatly reduce the overall contrast of a proof coin when you photograph it. Diffuse through tissue, reflect off paper, get creative and experiment. Digital film is cheap.

 

[Deerefan8420]

Thanks for those pointers! These are the first proofs that I've ever photographed and I thought tje first few pictures I took were way too bright. So I turned my lights to where they would reflect off the walls and ceiling and not directly on the coin itself. And I had my ISO on it's lowest setting. I'll play around with it more tomorrow and see what I can come up with.

[BillJones]

Use a light source that is well above (several inches to a foot) above the coins and experiment until you get pictures that show the most accurate view of the pieces. I can't answer your question from the pictures provided.