What Too Much Lighting Can Do - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 3,087
Joeyuk Valued Member United States 383 Posts	Posted 03/21/2007 1:57 pm I know really nothing about photography. I have a cheap 12" copy stand and I use a nikkon coolpix 8700. I set it up for macro and use it as a point and shoot. I just zoom in as far as auto focus lets me and I use the 10 second delay so I don't bump the camera when I shoot. I use a couple 30 watt compact flourescent lamps, they are 5000K which is supposed to be the same as sunlight, and also a 13 watt ott light. What I learned recently is you can saturate your coin with too much light. I was imaging some cents and hated the way they came out. The top image of each coin is with two 30 watt lamps plus the 13 watt. The lower pic is just the 13 watt lamp. Report this Post to the Staff

Learjet Pillar of the Community Australia 655 Posts	Posted 03/21/2007 6:05 pm Nice shots. You will probably find the cause is in the lighting angles, rather than intensity. Sometimes one light is better than two, as it gives the coin more depth. As with outdoor photography, pictures on a cloudy day look washed out compared to the more sharp effect of direct sunlight. Report this Post to the Staff
rasiel Valued Member United States 61 Posts	Posted 04/17/2007 2:46 pm having three lightsources is overkill. the photos remind me of what coins shot under a ring light look like. apart from these shots being overexposed the real problem is the setup itself which eliminates all contrast and makes the coin look "washed out" even if they were exposed correctly. look at the ONE CENT how there is no shadow around the letters, making them appear to be glowing. my suggestion would be to get rid of the two sidelights and move the front light about an inch farther out. the cone should do a nice job of diffusing the light. ras ras Report this Post to the Staff
SsuperDdave Moderator United States 23522 Posts	Posted 04/17/2007 3:23 pm quote: having three lightsources is overkill. the photos remind me of what coins shot under a ring light look like. apart from these shots being overexposed the real problem is the setup itself which eliminates all contrast and makes the coin look "washed out" even if they were exposed correctly. look at the ONE CENT how there is no shadow around the letters, making them appear to be glowing. my suggestion would be to get rid of the two sidelights and move the front light about an inch farther out. the cone should do a nice job of diffusing the light. ras ras I'm not completely sure I can get behind that without question, Ras. The shots below were all done with my usual 3x50w Halogen setup, no filtering at all, and I think they're OK. I would tend to agree with Learjet (someone whose next great coin pic will not be his first) that placement is the most important aspect of lighting for good coin photography. Indeed, ample light presents the photographer with a greater range of options, not the least of which is stopping down for greater depth of field, allowing a slight tilt for much more accurate color presentation Report this Post to the Staff
OldDan Pillar of the Community United States 1203 Posts	Posted 05/05/2007 12:00 pm Thank you Dave, those were nice pictures! Report this Post to the Staff
DoubleDie Valued Member United States 214 Posts	Posted 05/12/2007 5:34 pm What I want to know is how do you get the white background? Edited by DoubleDie 05/12/2007 5:35 pm Report this Post to the Staff
SsuperDdave Moderator United States 23522 Posts	Posted 05/12/2007 6:13 pm quote: What I want to know is how do you get the white background? I shot them on a piece of copier paper. Report this Post to the Staff
DoubleDie Valued Member United States 214 Posts	Posted 05/12/2007 6:19 pm I do to, but the 1864 Shield nickel has a white background and I haven't been able to achieve the white background, yet. Report this Post to the Staff
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