Lighting comparison

rmpsrpms

I shot a Lincoln Cent (1954-S RPM #4, slightly off-center) using 3 lighting techniques: Smile Directors, Lens-Mounted Diffuser, and "Axial Smiles". The Smile Directors put the light reflections just outside the diameter of the coin (to eliminate glare on slab surfaces), where the Axial Smiles allow reflections (only good for raw coins). The Lens-Mounted Diffuser is sized to allow glare. Here is an animation showing the effect of the the 3 methods on the "look" of the coin:

WildIdea

Pretty neat. For me, I could live with them all. They each seem to depict the coin accurately.

bolivarshagnasty

I'm guessing the Axial Smiles gives the coin closest to color in-hand?

rmpsrpms

@bolivarshagnasty said:
I'm guessing the Axial Smiles gives the coin closest to color in-hand?

Both the Diffuser and Axial Smile Director give a nearly axial result, so the colors for both match an in-hand view with a single light and direct reflection. Only part of the coin that is not direct reflecting is the center of the bust. The Smilies have the perfect curve to show direct reflection on the fields when pushed close enough to the lens, but don't produce the strong shadow effect of true axial lighting.

Many folks will slightly tilt the coin in order to do what I call "pseudo-axial", and this also gives a similar effect.

The advantage of the Smile Directors is you can move them "just outside" the radius of the coin, and achieve near-axial lighting. This gives best color you can achieve on slabbed coins without glare.

Paradisefound

U R beyond good of a photographer @rmpsrpms .....it is ALL SMILE to me

air4mdc

Very nice photos.....Axial Smiles really jumps out at you.

ricko

Great pictures... far beyond my photo skills or lighting comprehension.... Cheers, RickO

Intueor

I am not asking you to divulge a proprietor technique but I am captivated by the image overlay fade transition. Without revealing your trade secrets, how is this done? I realize it is multiple images “stacked” but is the fade transition effect captured by video software? The other fascinating aspect of the image is that the “video” is dynamic and does not need a mouse-click to play. What type of file format creates the auto-dynamic image? I realize these questions may be more than you wish to answer. I just thought I would ask. Your incredible images and techniques always astound me and are inspirational. Thanks for the post and expanding my concepts of coin photography.

rmpsrpms

The image is an animated GIF. I use ezgif.com for all my animations. It's very basic but allows you to adjust timings and transitions, and does it all in the cloud.

Intueor

@rmpsrpms said:
The image is an animated GIF. I use ezgif.com for all my animations. It's very basic but allows you to adjust timings and transitions, and does it all in the cloud.

Thank you! I am forever in your debt

RogerB

Nice photos.