New Photo setup and I am in need of photo advice

davids5104

Here is my new setup for photos of coins.

Below are a few examples of my obverse of a Morgan. How do I get mine where they are to the coin photo that is not mine. It is a Canon Rebel EOS on a tripod and two LED desk lamps. I am not trying to spend much, but looking for tweaks. things like different lights, settings on camera, etc.

Here is the stock one I want to figure out how to replicate

lcoopie

to get sharp focus you might use about f8 or 11 to get depth of focus
use delayed shutter release
youre underexposed so use positive exposure compensation
consider a copy stand

davids5104

To explain how far behind I am in photography knowledge. I searched google for what every line item you mentioned was. This new photo is simply using the +2 positive exposure compensation

lcoopie

shoot in RAW
reduce highlights

lcoopie

using Lightroom for processing

lcoopie

manual white balance

davids5104

@lcoopie said:
shoot in RAW
reduce highlights

I found how to change to shoot in raw. The new photo with that option did not make any difference. The images before and after are equivalent. Is that just the storage form of the photo?

There is nothing i can adjust as far as i can tell about "turning Highlight tone priority On" which is my interpretation of your "reduce highlights." I did find the auto-light optimizer and can turn that off. But I think only the high-end rebel, not my many year old model has it as an option.

Regarding the white balance. This is not a user friendly option. I do not understand how to do it. I see the menu items but i am not do not know what Letter to move it towards to improve my photos.

Desert Moon

photo advise - copystand, macro lens, works every time..............

lcoopie

Shooting in RAW allows you more ability to correct the image

You reduce the highlights after taking the photo, on the computer or phone

Here I reduced the highlights and the brightness of your last photo

davids5104

Here is the exposure compensation in the first image and the F stop changed to 11 in the second. I pretty much got rid of the exposure compensation with the high F stop. I am unsure which photo is the better or what other changes I can make

lcoopie

Second one much better, focus is better

lcoopie

Use manual focus

davids5104

@lcoopie said:
Use manual focus

Will do. I also added a 2 sec delay after pressing button. Still no where near what the original photos got going on. Here is my attempt at the reverse

YQQ

I believe your Canon came with some software disk which contains the SW to use your PC and mouse to click the shutter and your monitor to adjust sharpness.
every canon compatible lens with a macro capability can then be used , manual adjustment only.
watch it on your monitor.
AND. always Auto-white balance and raw or close to raw shooting.
You will need to spend a few (not a lot) bucks for photo SW. I successfully use ACDsee for under $ 40 for many years.

lcoopie

@davids5104 said:

@lcoopie said:
Use manual focus

Will do. I also added a 2 sec delay after pressing button. Still no where near what the original photos got going on. Here is my attempt at the reverse

theres a book on coin photography by one of the members which I have forgotten, also a website for education

ChrisH821

Your photo setup looks almost exactly like mine Although I extend the back leg of the tripod further to get more overhang, I use a ziplock bag of cents to counterbalance the camera.

Use the Canon EOS Utility to do remote shooting from a computer, can change settings, focus, and shoot pictures without even touching the camera.
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/

WaterSport

That what I use, the remote shooting...

WS

Gluggo

I like the set up. I invested in a training video on my Cannon 6Ti camera. Lots of good information on how to use these complex cameras. I get to learn on my time line when I feel the need. I do not believe it was all that expensive.
I then bought the small dansco lights and covered them for diffusers.

I get lost in all that technical camera setting talk, but that’s just me.
Your pictures look good and maybe try black background vs white.
Good luck.
Chris thank you for that link.

yspsales

Seems too much direct light.

You need to soften and diffuse the light. Move it away, wrap it in a white sheet, try a different wattage and lighting type.

Shoot raw as mentioned above.

The first attempts are nice.

Personally like the fourth image when buying on ebay. The first two images are not bad.

Fret not, I once shot hundreds of weddings and sporting events.

Small silver and gold objects are still the toughest items to photograph.

georgiacop50

rubber band coffee filters over your lights for diffusion

The author of the book mentioned above is Mark Goodman

davids5104

Thanks for all the help. I now have the EOS utility and the digital photo professional 4 that was available. it has too many options that I do not understand. Obviously like anything, it takes time to learn. I am still unsure how they get the coins to look like that. The photos I am starting with are not able to be edited to look like the good ones above

I think the sharpness feature, the remote photo taking, F stop setting, positive exposure compensation will allow my photos to be better than the average. I feel like I am in the weird position where I am not a dealer, but sell coins and some of my coins are pricier and so improved pictures are needed to get people interested.

Gluggo

@davids5104 said:
David what is the " digital photo professional 4 that was available. " and where did you find that. Just looking for more free stuff. Going into the Cannon link above right now. I noticed they even have video how to use their software. Going to go them too! TYIA

Ohhh never mind I just found it downloading now! Thanks

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/details/cameras/eos-dslr-and-mirrorless-cameras/dslr/eos-rebel-t6i/eos-rebel-t6i?tab=drivers_downloads

davids5104

@Gluggo said:

@davids5104 said:
David what is the " digital photo professional 4 that was available. " and where did you find that. Just looking for more free stuff. Going into the Cannon link above right now. I noticed they even have video how to use their software. Going to go them too! TYIA

The link above takes you to the section for Canon support where you can download the utilities and firmware for your specific canon product. The EOS utility has camera specific adjustment options but the photo professional 4 has all the options post photo creation. I have only knowledge enough to recognize this is a lot

crazyhounddog

Sometimes less it better. I’m talking about light. Manual focus and check your shutter speed is the best advice I can give you. Your images look pretty good . Keep at it, practice makes perfect 👍🏻

crazyhounddog

davids5104

@crazyhounddog said:
Sometimes less it better. I’m talking about light. Manual focus and check your shutter speed is the best advice I can give you. Your images look pretty good . Keep at it, practice makes perfect 👍🏻

I have a 7yr old. Did you all know that schools no longer say that "practice makes perfect"? They say practice improves or practice makes better.

erwindoc

My HS baseball coach used to say, "Perfect practice makes perfect!"

DiggerJim

If you strive for perfection in a lot of cases you will achieve perfection. If you strive for something less than perfection, at best you will achieve something less than perfection.