I looked at your photo in detail and discussed it with some buddies interested in coin photography. It is from the hands of a master photographer. With a low angle main light source, lighting in the photo is still pretty even, with no loss of details. The black spots around the mouth, the nose, eyes and ears are represented to the point. I have saved the photo for future reference.
On the other hand, while most new hands tend to use low angle lighting, few of them would mitigate against the resulting loss of details by placing high angle reflectors. They don't have the equipment for the purpose either. That's why I would encourage starters to use high angle lighting in coin photography. This way at least details on the coin face is well represented.
The real credit goes to the artists, designers and engravers in China who give us so many beautiful coins and medals to photograph. For me, the purpose of a coin photo is to try to convey the spirit and message of these artists. Whatever lighting setup – high angle, low angle, sideways, upside down – accomplishes this is good. A difficult coin/medal may require a couple of hours of trial and error before the results are acceptable. For a long time I felt rather embarrassed that it often takes me so long to arrive at a solution, but one of the artists in China told me that the official photographer doesn't work any faster. So, don't feel bad if setting up takes a while and just try to learn from the inevitable mistakes.
Best wishes,
Peter Anthony
NGC Consultant
China Pricepedia — Chinese Coin Prices and More
The Gold & Silver Panda Coin Buyer’s Guide 3
www.pandacollector.com
