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To participate in the forum you must log in or register. | Author |
 Replies: 11 / Views: 3,068 |
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
So, this is actually the first coin I ever purchased, just last October. I just thought it was a very beautiful coin. I got it from a dealer. I'm still afraid to remove it from the glued 2x2 he had it in! After finding this great place, I thought it would be educational for me to post photos of it and have you all offer your opinions on the coin. So I broke out my digital camera (which has a macro setting) and started. This is when I realized how difficult it truly is to photograph a coin. So for your laughing pleasure, here is my first attempt at photographing this coin:       I don't really expect any commens on the coin, given how bad the photos are, and given the fact that I didn't want to tear open the 2x2 yet (since I couldn't get good pics of it anyways). But it can be a "before" so that I can have some comparison of what progress I can make in doing a better job soon. I've started reading various "guides" to coin photography which have helped a LOT in my understanding of how to light the coins and other nuances in snapping the pics; things like how to do axial lighting, how to make a cost-effective light-tent, how to use 2 light sources, how to soften or harden the details, etc. etc. My plan is to save up a bit of money and invest in a nice macro lense, since my wife has a great digital SLR, but not a lense suited for macro photography, and the camera I used to take these pics has a macro feature, but is not a very good camera. Then I hit home depot at some point and spend a few bucks to build a home kit that will allow me to do axial lighting (basically, I need a piece of glass and some wood to build a frame that will hold the glass at a 45degree angle to the coin and light source (hard to explian if you don't know what it is already)). Then I can begin the fun of learning how to do this thing called "taking a nice picture of a coin" and experiment with making a coin "look" better, making a coin look worse, or just trying to be able to effectively show areas that I think warrant more attention (much like using funky lighting and a 10x loupe!) Then I can look back at the photos I put up today and chuckle :) Of course, any comments that anyone may care to make on the coin would be appreciated just the same, but as I said, I don't expect it based on the poor quality of the photos. As for comments on my photography, tips, thoughts, of course all would be welcome. Thanks for reading, and thanks also to everyone who welcomed me and who offered advice and help in my earlier posts. It's very much appreciated! |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but your first attempts at coin photography aren't all that bad. The two major problems are the white balance (yellowish cast to the pics) and focus (likely partly the fault of the cellophane). Both of these can be corrected with simple steps you are already aware of, from the tone of your post. I suspect you'll do just fine with the proper setup. I don't really want to get into too much detail in the Main Coin Forum, as we have a dedicated Photography forum where it will be my distinct pleasure to bore you near to death with coin photography talk.  However, it doesn't hurt to see mention of photography in the Main Forum, because it's a whole sub-culture of numismatics, and there are those who put a great deal of effort into getting coin pics right. I like the chance to plug the fact that we have a few pretty capable photographers at Coin Community, who are always happy to lend advice to anyone who cares to ask. I'll leave you with the two most important points for a new coin shooter: 1) Most decent digicams, used properly, can take very good coin pics. It's only a matter of how big they will be, and how well you learn the lighting and setup process. Maximize what you can do with what you have. 2) A whole lot of a given camera's limitations can be made up by postprocessing software, and some of the best of that type is free. As a photographer, it behooves you to learn as much in that direction as you learn about the camera itself.   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1083 Posts |
Not that bad on the pictures and your first coin purchase. Welcome to the forum. That is a really nice Type One Standing Liberty quarter. One of the most beautiful US coins ever minted. Great start! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1424 Posts |
Those pictures are way better than most of the ones I see on ebay, I especially like the 3rd one! |
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New Member
 United States
16 Posts |
Eepsies !
I meant to post this in the photography forum.
Whoops!
But yes, I can see myself getting really into this photography thing. I have plans for 2008 to take pictures of many many things (not just coins). But I just never really thought about photographing a coin before. I mean, I've looked at many photos of coins in magazines, books and online, but I just never thought about it from a "how would one do this" perspective. Such an artform! I have a newfound respect for all who do it well.
Anyways, thanks for your reply and thoughts. I have already been reading a lot of the posts in the photography forum and am really enjoying this place!
Thanks again !
*sneaks back off to try taking some more pictures*
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
quote:
Eepsies !
I meant to post this in the photography forum.
Well, then, I'll move it there.  |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
OK, now that you're in my territory....  The key to good coin photography is maximizing the potential of your equipment, not just spending money on "good" equipment. This means making sure the lens and your coin are absolutely parallel. Getting enough light, but not too much light, on the coin from the right angle. Keeping the camera absolutely still when you snap the shot, either with the timer or remote shutter control. Either bringing the light to the camera, by using lighting color the camera handles well, or by bringing the camera to the light, by white balance adjustment pre- or post-shot. All of that is camera-independent, stuff you'll want to do with whatever camera you're using. There are a lot of ideas on this forum for achieving these goals, and best that you learn it before you disappoint yourself with inferior results from better equipment. In your case, I'm thinking that you'd be a little surprised at what your wife's dSLR is capable of, even with whatever lenses is has - just research the minimum focal length of whatever lens can focus the shortest, and start playing with it at that distance. Don't worry about size, because you know you'll get the size when you have a macro lens. Just worry about getting focus and color you like. Shoot for exposures of around 1/125-1/200 at f/8.0 and ISO 400 as a baseline for determining how much light you'll want. I know people achieve nice results with wide apertures (down to f/3.2 or 4.0) and long exposures up to 1/4 or 1/2, but the settings I mention are my usual starting point representing what I think is a nice compromise given my extremely cramped and difficult lighting situation. I most normally use two 50w halogen lights at about 10:00 and 2:00 - I haven't played with axial lighting yet because I'm just learning. The beauty of it, though, is that what works for you might be entirely different from what works for me. Take pics. Adjust everything, one thing at a time. Log each setting, and key it to the particular shot. If you take the attitude that you're in school, you'll have it licked in the first two weeks. |
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
Awesome !
Ok, so my wife has already shown me what an idiot I am when it comes to using the SLR with the lense it already has. The minimum focus distance is like over half a meter, but still, she was able to take a shot that was better than mine. But I'm not going to post her shot because I want to be able to do it myself (teehee).
However, being the doll that she is to me, we're going to eat something and watch a movie together so I won't be doing this right this moment. However, soon to come will be some kind of report on my efforts here.
As for fstop settings, on my point and click I don't even know how to set that (or anything else) though maybe there's a way. On the SLR, I never would have tried f/8! I've been playing with f/5.6 while altering other variables, but changing the fstop may open up a new world of possibility.
Yes, yes, that is very helpful. I will definitely try this out and see how it goes. Thanks so much !! Yes, I'm in class, woohoo !
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
So my wife went to bed and I stayed up for a bit to mess around the the camera. I still have a lot to learn, but I setup a really simple deal and had at it. Here are the results from using my wife's digital SLR. Unfortunately, I can't get any closer without having focus problems, and these are at their native resolution, cropped from originals that are 2240x1448 pixels. I'd like to get something much larger, but alas, this seems to be my closest closeup thus far with the SLR. Still, it's progress (I think) in that I experimented a bit with white balance, fstops (though see below - I was limited in this), lighting, number of lights, direction of lights, and even threw a piece of glass up (though it wasn't quite the right angle) for some axial attempts. This is truly interesting. The worst part is, I still have most of my coins in 2x2s, and was too lazy to tear them open for this (or I could also use the excuse that I need to get something that's more condusive to removal without destroying the packaging), so many of the shots have a lot of lighting issues due to the covering. However, there was at least one coin that was raw and open, hehe. Anyways, as I get better at the photos, I think it will encourage me to get braver with the tearing open of 2x2s as well as risking butterfingering a coin and dropping it raw onto the floor, after it bounces off the pillow I'm holding under it in my other hand (haha). Unfortunately, it still seems like my lighting overall is just . . . bad. And I still am not getting the sharpness I wanted, but that's an issue with me not remembering how to use the shutter delay on the camera and having to hit it by hand (a huge no-no). Tommorrow, I'll ask my wife how (*sigh*) and then I can use a longer shutter speed, higher fstops, and best of all, no jerk of the camera as I press the button to take the shot. But again, this is a sort of study, and I haven't went to bed yet so this is still "today", so... The SLQ I shot already:       Some others:     |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
It is easy to mess up...but also very rewarding when you get something right. So keep trying...and learning what you can squeeze out of your camera. (Most decent digi-cams can turn out much better pics than their owners realize.) I've been trying to better show toning, spurred on by a nice 1831 Half Dime. It's such a small coin...this is the best picture I've been able to get to date. I've gotten the toning right, but the surface of the coin is much smoother in hand. So it will be back to the shop tomorrow!   |
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
Wow, that looks amazing. I appreciate that you are striving to improve as well, but you are light years ahead of me at this. I'm in awe! I hope you have some fun getting the details to look right without losing that awesome toning !
It's interesting how when I look at all the pictures I've taken of a single coin, it seems sometimes like I have 20 different coins, because of how much the color, detail, flaws shown or hidden, etc. are. I can see it as different tries to get the most accurate display of my coin, but I can also see it as . . . well, getting to enjoy (?) a few coins that may not exist in this universe any other way ;)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
Thanks, Maltuna, for the kind words. I've been playing around with coin photography for several months now, and recently spent upgraded my camera and lens. You're right about how a change in technique can greatly alter the look of a coin. (Now, without slandering any particular ebay seller, you see why some seem to purposely post terrible pictures, while others post misleading pictures of their items for sale!) I enjoy my coins much more since I started photographing them. It's fun to share them with others on this site. And heaven only knows that digital photography lets you see details on a coin that a loupe only hints at. good luck in your collecting and photography! |
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Replies: 11 / Views: 3,068 |
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Posted 12/22/2007 7:47 pm
