Photoxperimenting Setup - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,219
coinee Valued Member United States 113 Posts	Posted 08/25/2017 1:48 pm For a little while now I've been photographing coins on a jewelry tray with my cell phone - Samsung Note 4 - set on a microscope stand and for lighting, a diffused work drop light you get at a home center. A couple times I used a second work light that was not diffused. Here are a couple sample images. CRH Proof 1978-S Jefferson CRH 1961-D Lincoln This setup is very quick to do but getting the lighting and focus right is hit or miss and the quality is hit or miss as well. But it was better than my original attempt using the Celestron Microscope on the stand. The biggest issue with that is it has built-in LED lighting that cannot be controlled and henceforth most photos are blown out and/or totally incorrect as far as color. The latest experiment was a quick setup of my Nikon D5100 on a tripod and the coin setup on the jewelry tray. Both the camera and jewelry tray display pad were angled. Here are a couple photos of the setup. And here are images taken with it. I think they came out great. Is there any improvements that can be made? Is anything not right that I am not noticing? Thanks! Report this Post to the Staff

John1 Moderator United States 56855 Posts	Posted 08/25/2017 1:50 pm A bit more light maybe. John1 Report this Post to the Staff
Mark1959 Pillar of the Community 7234 Posts	Posted 08/25/2017 3:06 pm Can you try taking some pictures of a 90% silver coin - see how the lighting effects the brightness of the silver. Like John said, a bit more lighting for your Lincoln Cent but otherwise nice, sharp pictures. Edited by Mark1959 08/25/2017 3:07 pm Report this Post to the Staff
rmpsrpms Pillar of the Community United States 4038 Posts	Posted 08/26/2017 11:46 am Your light is coming in at an extremely low angle. This low angle really emphasizes the 3D quality of the coin, and brings out the surface irregularities, dirt and dust, etc. This is of course a valid way to shoot if that's your goal, but if you are trying to get the so-called "in-hand look" the lights should be at as high an angle to the coin as possible. Now, in this case, with the very odd raised area in the field above the date, this low angle lighting technique may be exactly what you wanted since it does show the area very well. Edited to add: Hah, I was fooled by the lighting. The area on the field is not raised, but instead surrounded by gunk, correct? This is another aspect of this lighting type, it can fool you into seeing things incorrectly Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com Edited by rmpsrpms 08/26/2017 3:06 pm Report this Post to the Staff
coinee Valued Member United States 113 Posts	Posted 08/26/2017 9:14 pm Thank all for the replies. I'll work on getting a silver photo. I guess a Morgan will work? I'll try adding another diffused light to brighten things up. As for the low angle light. I never really thought of where to put the light. I just moved it to where I thought it make the coin look best. The coin photo was to show what I believe to be a delamination. That area above the date - I was calling it the island - really looks like it is the coin and not gunk making it look like that. The gunk is in the recessed areas from what I can tell. The 0 in 1910 is very faint which makes me think the planchet was missing material when it was struck. Just a thought. I'm not an expert. Edited by coinee 08/26/2017 9:22 pm Report this Post to the Staff
rmpsrpms Pillar of the Community United States 4038 Posts	Posted 08/26/2017 9:21 pm Aha...so that's not gunk on the coin, but a huge area of missing metal? So it was as I thought to start with. Interesting coin. Not sure what would have caused it. Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com Report this Post to the Staff
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