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 Replies: 36 / Views: 2,287 |
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Valued Member
Italy
284 Posts |
Quote:
The color of the coin cannot be changed; it's simply a result of the coin's toning You have the coin in your hands so you know better  To me that looks like the whites are not balanced but the results of the incandescent lights. Again, a white reference would immediately show how your temp is (and allow to easily adjust in post).  |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4036 Posts |
Clearly from your photos the lights are at a relatively low angle vs the coin. Higher angles will produce better color. If you want to produce those deep colors on toned coins, you need to bring the lights up higher in angle. Best is 90-deg, ie axial, but that is difficult without introducing other problems, so going to 80-85 degrees will give best compromise of results.
Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com |
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Valued Member
 United States
203 Posts |
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Clearly from your photos the lights are at a relatively low angle vs the coin. Higher angles will produce better color. If you want to produce those deep colors on toned coins, you need to bring the lights up higher in angle Thank you, rmpsrpms. I appreciate and will apply the technical advice. I am building a larger black box mini studio to accommodate more flexibility with lighting, and will make a trip around town to acquire some additional clamp-on gooseneck lights. I put together a small axial lighting box to experiment with as well. Most of my photography experience was focused on outdoor, nighttime, long-exposure, black-and-white images of industrial scenes, abandoned structures, and other similar subjects. I loaded, developed, and enlarged all of my film stock, but that was close to 40 years ago.   |
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Valued Member
United States
203 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
187446 Posts |
I love that LWC! |
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Valued Member
United States
203 Posts |
Thanks, jbuck! It's a longstanding favorite of mine. I decided to add eight pounds of weight to the center pole of my tripod so I could safely raise my camera and ring light another two inches higher, and try one more time. Two inches made the difference, and finally, I am getting in the magic zone for tone! Thank you rmpsrpms! your advice on a higher angle of lighting is the key!   |
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Moderator
United States
187446 Posts |
That seems to have helped. Looks very nice! |
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Valued Member
Italy
284 Posts |
Awesome shots and much improvement in these last ones!
For the last coin I'd raise the shadows/blacks in post (especially the obverse). I'd love to see also what boosting saturation does to the toning. Some might call it cheating but if not overdone..
Cheers
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2113 Posts |
lucidfind your photos are looking better and better. - I notice you mentioned, and also your camera is set up with a "Ring Light", but post a picture of an axial lighting box. Question: What techniques are you using to take these pictures? Ring light or Axial box? Thanks!
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Valued Member
United States
203 Posts |
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I notice you mentioned, and also your camera is set up with a "Ring Light" All of these images were taken in a black box with my camera and ring light mounted on a tripod. I haven't started experimenting with the axial lighting setup yet, just posted an image of it for reference and comment. I apologize for the confusion. This is my current setup.  |
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Valued Member
United States
203 Posts |
Thank you, joe_77. Thanks for the advice.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2113 Posts |
Thank you for your reply lucidfind. I love the detail your camera is capturing of these coins; they look similar to an axial technique photograph. Your tripod setup is fascinating, like something out of the Space Shuttle.. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4036 Posts |
One trick to see how your lighting is doing is to put a mirror in place of the coin and snap a shot. The mirror will show if the light is at a high enough angle to give direct reflection, which is what you're looking for to get those deep colors.
A ringlight is a good solution for "pseudo-axial" lighting. One weird thing you'll find when you shoot with a ringlight is that it leaves a "hole" in the middle. This doesn't mean there's no light hitting that area, just that the light doesn't directly reflect from the coin to the camera sensor. I actually think this is a benefit since we're mostly interested in the deep toning in the fields. To get maximum benefit from the ringlight, you'll want to see a bright ring (in the mirror) that would extend across the fields of a coin (if a coin were there).
Edited by rmpsrpms
07/23/2025 10:25 am
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Valued Member
United States
203 Posts |
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Thank you for your reply lucidfind.
I love the detail your camera is capturing of these coins; they look similar to an axial technique photograph.
Your tripod setup is fascinating, like something out of the Space Shuttle. You bet! Thank you for being engaged in the conversation. Yes, the camera and lens are amazing! I moved up from a Sony Nex-5R mirrorless with an APS-C sensor and macro 1:1 to a Nikon Z5 full-frame mirrorless with a Nikkor Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, a huge investment for me but well worth it. Quote:
One trick to see how your lighting is doing is to put a mirror in place of the coin and snap a shot. The mirror will show if the light is at a high enough angle to give direct reflection, which is what you're looking for to get those deep colors. Thank you, rmpsrpms, using a mirror is brilliant advice! I may also invest in a copy stand; my tripod works, but it takes up a lot of space and can be cumbersome to fine-tune. I have, since my last post, attempted some axial lighting; the following are the results of my first attempts. I have used the same commemorative half for comparison Axial Lighting of 1893 Commemorative Columbian Expo Half Dollar.   Edited by lucidfind
07/25/2025 12:35 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4036 Posts |
I prefer the previous effort, but it was just a bit dark. Here it is brightened-up a bit:  |
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Replies: 36 / Views: 2,287 |
First Page
Posted 07/15/2025 11:35 pm
