What is the best way to take Pic 0

[MrAnson]

What is the best way to take pic of your coins to show what they really look like so you can get the best advice about them because i cant afford to send a coin to get it graded and it is worth less the cost of grading the coin i posted looks way better then the pic i took

[Coinbuf]

Nice photos are more about the lighting than the equipment.   That is not to say that great high end camera equipment does not help, it does; but with good lighting great photos can be taken with todays cell phone cameras.  Your photo above appears to be lit from one side with a very harsh light, using multiple light sources that are somewhat muted tend to give better results by lighting the coin from all sides.   There are several threads posted in the US/World section of this forum about taking photos with tips and tricks to help you generate great photos with your cell phone.   If you have a DSLR and a good macro lens this site Click here is maintained by one of the very best coin photographers I know of, Mark literally wrote the book on coin photography.

 

Edited to add:  if you decide that you want to upgrade your equipment I suggest that you get in touch with this fellow Click here, he has a very cost effective system that will give you excellent results with a little practice.

Edited April 7, 2021 by Coinbuf

[GoldFinger1969]

I presume you have a smartphone ?  I'm not an expert, but I find it best to:

• Make sure the lights are behind/in front of the display where the coin sits so there is not glare.
• LED lighting illuminates best
• Angle the coin at about a 30 degree pitch to the table towards you/the camera.  You don't want to take the picture of the coin flat on the table or directly above 
• Make sure the camera setings are at least 1280x720

You can always resize or crop away stuff.

Here's one of mine which is pretty good (no glare, shows the luster and shine):

Edited April 7, 2021 by GoldFinger1969

[Modwriter]

1 hour ago, GoldFinger1969 said:

I presume you have a smartphone ?  I'm not an expert, but I find it best to:

• Make sure the lights are behind/in front of the display where the coin sits so there is not glare.
• LED lighting illuminates best
• Angle the coin at about a 30 degree pitch to the table towards you/the camera.  You don't want to take the picture of the coin flat on the table or directly above 
• Make sure the camera setings are at least 1280x720

You can always resize or crop away stuff.

Here's one of mine which is pretty good (no glare, shows the luster and shine):

Great photo and tips! I was a litho process camera operator for many years and cant take a decent digital coin pic to save my life. I need to get some LED lighting.