Editing Coin Images In Lab Mode - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,881
DVCollector Bedrock of the Community United States 10045 Posts	Posted 08/26/2014 12:27 am Austrokiwi asked me to show my techniques for modifying coin images. I use Photoshop and in LAB mode, so my demo will pertain to this program. If others can explain how you do it with other software, please add your thoughts. Austrokiwi's original photo was pretty good, but a little dark... Let's start with the obverse. If you go to levels in Photoshop, it shows a histogram indicating that shadows are bunched up past the gamut (left side) and the highest values are darker than they should be (right side) In this case, I adjusted the levels by sliding the right (highlight) slider and then applying smooth curves that added some contrast to the obverse: The reverse is a little trickier because of the lower contrast, even monochrome areas. The solution here is to add contrast. The power of working in LAB mode is that you can apply complex tonal curves in the Luminance channel. This wouldn't work in RGB because it would affect colors too. Below, the relatively subdued histogram on the reverse indicates there is less contrast, the shadows are blocked up (red arrow) and the highlights need to go higher (yellow arrow). The best way to solve the drab areas on the reverse is to apply contrast curves to select areas of the tonal range. This is best done in LAB mode. The red outline shows areas on the coin that were nearly monochromatic, requiring a steeper curve in those tonal regions. Obviously, my adjustments are simply guesses. It's best working with the actual coin for reference. After applying some curves in LAB (and a lot of guesswork) I achieved this result: Edited by DVCollector 08/26/2014 12:40 am Report this Post to the Staff

YoshiRules Pillar of the Community United States 602 Posts	Posted 08/26/2014 12:35 am meh. I'm not fond of people doing this for bad intentions, like to make a coin look better/shinier/etc than it really is in hand. I got smoked on an ebay deal like this for a 1816 eiu kreuzer. Report this Post to the Staff
DVCollector Bedrock of the Community United States 10045 Posts	Posted 08/26/2014 12:38 am I know what you mean about deceptive ebay pics. But, this isn't about making the coin simply "look better"--it's making the photo more accurately portray the actual coin, as Austrokiwi has said. Edited by DVCollector 08/26/2014 02:19 am Report this Post to the Staff
austrokiwi Pillar of the Community 2087 Posts	Posted 08/26/2014 01:09 am Quote: This isn't about making the coin "look better"--it's making the photo more accurately portray the actual coin Thanks DV collector I know understand you original comment about the shadows in a much more practical way. Yoshirules....yes I have had people con me with deceptive photos as well. My interest and that of others on the forum is being able to present the best representation of a coin. In writing articles on coins I often want the reader to have the best possible representation and sometimes the perfect coins just don't exist or are phenomenally expensive. So editing a photo to educate is not the same as conning Report this Post to the Staff
westcoin Pillar of the Community United States 9792 Posts	Posted 08/26/2014 01:11 am LAB correction is pretty much how we astrophotographers adjust our astrophotographs shot with a telescope, in that case we are shooting with monochrome (black & white) cameras through filters (LRGB) using Luminance (clear), Red, Green and Blue filters and then combining all the photos taken over long periods. The Luminance is the most important part of the image, as it is where all the detail lives and in astrophotography it is usually the longest duration shot. By adjusting that channel only you are not inducing color shifts or boosting saturation, only increasing or decreasing the all important detail part of the image. It is as true of an image as originally captured if you don't mess with the color data channels. DVCollector is right on as is Austrokiwi. One tip I can add - is when you make a selection point on the luminance (lightness) curve. Use your arrow keys on the keyboard to make small adjustments rather than the mouse, which is usually nowhere accurate enough on any selected point. Don't make large movements, rather, add more points instead, to control areas you are working on. For even more advanced editing gurus - you can also make layer (adjustment) masks and use multiple curves in different areas on the coin. Be sure the Preview box is checked to see your changes in real time, If you screw up hold the ALT (PC) or Option (Mac) Key down and note the save button will change to reset. Leaving the LAB curve window open to continue back from the start. "Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector. See my want page: http://goccf.com/t/140440 Edited by westcoin 08/26/2014 01:14 am Report this Post to the Staff
DVCollector Bedrock of the Community United States 10045 Posts	Posted 08/26/2014 01:17 am Quote: Use your arrow keys on the keyboard to make small adjustments rather than the mouse, which is usually nowhere accurate enough on any selected point. I do that too when I need very small increments made to the curves. Thanks for all the input! Edited by DVCollector 08/26/2014 01:19 am Report this Post to the Staff
DVCollector Bedrock of the Community United States 10045 Posts	Posted 08/26/2014 9:24 pm Here's another example of this process, using a photo of one of my coins. The left pic is after opening the image in Adobe Camera Raw and trying to get the highlights under control. The result is a flat, rather lifeless picture--but those highlights are still there. The second picture is after applying a rather aggressive curve in LAB (far right). This has toned down the highlights and extended the brightness over a wider range, resulting in more attractive modeling of the coin. Report this Post to the Staff
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