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 Replies: 7 / Views: 2,055 |
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Valued Member
United States
128 Posts |
Well, I finally decided on a copy stand and pulled the trigger. That with the two jansjo's I picked up in Dallas a couple of weeks ago I'm ready to start cataloging my collection. In case anyone is curious I went with this copy stand: http://www.adorama.com/CECS1070.html This is definitely overkill for coins, but I have some other uses for it so I'm really happy with it. My setup right now is the two lights at 11 & 2 o'clock, as near to the lens and straight down as possible. As far as post processing goes, I'm tweaking the white balance as needed to get it as close as possible to the actual coin. Then I've tweaked the tones to pull back some of the highlights that the lights seem to blow out a bit. Then finally bump the blacks up just a bit to adjust the background (on the unslabbed coins that is, can't do much with the ones in slabs). The first thing I've noticed though is a slight shadow on the top of the coin that I can't seem to get rid of with the two lights. Would a backlight a few feet behind me help this? Anyway, I'd really appreciate any tips or tricks that you guys might have to improve my technique.     |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4037 Posts |
Very nice pictures.
While the luster on the coins looks great, you may consider adding some (or more) diffusion to the lights in order to reduce the local contrast and get more light into the darker areas.
Are you adjusting black levels with gamma correction? If so, you will have a better time of it with RAW processing if you are able to do that. Much more resolution at bottom end of dynamic range in the image and the blacks won't end up as noisy.
How high above the coin are your lights? If you move them a little closer, along with a bit of diffusion, they will look "bigger" and will give more even illumination and reduce the dark areas. Your luster will reduce, but that is the classic tradeoff...Ray
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Valued Member
 United States
128 Posts |
Thanks, Ray. Yes, I am shooting/processing in RAW. I think the noise your are seeing in the background is more lint/discoloration than anything. I'm finding I'm going to need to raise the coins off of the background to get rid of that.
I have the lights level with the lens. I'm shooting with a 100mm Macro, so probably somewhere between 9 to 12" for the smaller coins. I'll experiment with the height and see how that goes.
I'm definitely going to look at making some diffusers. I feel like I'm almost working with a couple of little spotlights. My macro photography has always been limited to natural light shots, so I'm definitely on a learning curve here. Thanks for the advice!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4037 Posts |
I find that Jansjos, either bare or with a small amount of diffusion, work best for my setups at about 3-4" from the coin. This is the best compromise I've found for shadow detail and even lighting. The lens length won't affect this other than the farther you are from the lens the easier it is for the lights to get in the way of the shot at these close distances. Another problem with having the lights between the coin and lens is potential for flare if some direct light shines up at the lens. A tapered lens hood helps with this and can keep stray light "out of the picture". You can make a tapered hood from a piece of black paper and tape it to the lens...Ray
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4037 Posts |
Here's an un-processed sequence of shots to illustrate the effect of light height. Two Jansjo's, with diffusion ("Smile Directors"). I used a 105mm EL-Nikkor to simulate the working distance of your 100mm Macro. WD is ~9". Heights are 60mm, 75mm, 90mm, 120mm, and 150mm...Ray 60mm  75mm  90mm  120mm  150mm  Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com |
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Valued Member
United States
128 Posts |
Ray, excellent demonstration! That helps a lot. I've come up with a quick fix for some diffusers by rubber banding a folded kleenex over the light and it has definitely helped. I'll play with the distance now and see how it goes. Then I'll look at coming up with some real diffusers. Thanks!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
627 Posts |
I can strongly suggest Ray's cone diffuser design or Ray's smiley diffuser design. I have included pictures from Ray's posts before (hope that's okay Ray). Rays Fancy Cone Diffusers  Smile Diffuser  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4037 Posts |
No worries Brandon, thanks for reposting, and for recommending! ...Ray
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Replies: 7 / Views: 2,055 |
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Posted 01/26/2012 9:12 pm
