Image Lighting - which is better?

Mr_Spud

Still playing around with lighting. Which image is better, 1 or 2? Thanks in advance, for any replies

WAYNEAS

I'll go with the second picture.
I too am playing with the lighting issues.
Best of luck.
Wayne

messydesk

The first looks nicer, the second tells me more. Not sure which one that makes "better." For a tiny coin, try taking the lighting you used in the first and collimate it a lot so that the lights look tiny from the coin's perspective. You could also hold the lights farther from the coin, but at the same angle. You're going for a little more information about the surfaces than you're getting in the first.

crazyhounddog

Sometimes less is more. Maybe try using less light and squeezing your aperture and slowing down your shutter speed. If you shoot in manual mode you will have more control. I think you’re flooding the images out with light.

Jimnight

I'm just gonna stand here and absorb what you guys are saying.

WaterSport

I always have good success at night with no other lights on in the room. The amount of ambient light can have a big affect on your pictures. I think you want to be somewhere between the two pictures you have.

WS

derryb

3? 1 & 2 seem flat. More angle or diffusion on lighting?

Hydrant

The one that sells the coin the fastest......duh!

1northcoin

Obverse of #1, Reverse of #2.

tommy44

I like #2 the best. I took a bunch of pics outside today at about 3PM in Atlanta and think they came out pretty good. I'd rather use natural light when I can.

Cameonut

I'll go with whatever looks closer to the actual coin.
Both sets of images are very good.

airplanenut

I think the second one is likely more realistic because it shows lustre and marks. The diffused lighting in #1 is something I usually only use when there's color I can't show well alongside the lustre (for instance, a coin with strong bands of lustre that result in bright/colorful areas--good--as well as dark areas that don't show color--realistic, but bad if you want to show off the toning). Typically, I won't present an image like #1 without also having an image like #2, though when the #2 style image works, I don't bother with #1. In this case, I don't think the coin has any features that warrant the use of diffused lighting, since the color comes through with #2.

All that said, I think some more playing would be worthwhile. A slightly different angle will probably get you better overall lighting (particularly the reverse which is a bit dark) while still showing lustre and color well. I will note that coins this small can be difficult because the bands of light coming from a bulb are relatively so large that it's easy to wash out the coin or, when being careful not to do so, effectively fail to illuminate it. If you have a similar coin the size of a quarter (I suppose that would likely be a quarter, but a nickel or half could work) it may help you practice what the end result should be, which in turn will help you decide what lighting is and isn't working best for you.

ricko

Image one for the obverse and image two for the reverse. I know, but those are the ones I like. Cheers, RickO

Mr_Spud

Thanks everyone. I think I’ll use the obverse from image 1 and reverse of image 2 for now, but I’ll retake the images sometime when I get a chance.

This helps me both with this coin as well as other coins, it’s good to get others feedback. I also learned a new word:

collimate - to make parallel
collimate light rays

BryceM

I'd solve the sharpness problem before tackling the lighting problem. Either your focus is off, your camera is unsteady, the shutter speed is too long, the quality of the lens is poor.... or something. No amount of fiddling with the lighting will result in great photos if the subject isn't in focus. Until I got a copy stand and good macro lens, my photos looked just like this.

Mr_Spud

@BryceM yes, I know what you mean. I’m taking these pictures with my iphone of a small coin in a NGC slab. I’ve gotten it right with larger coins in PCGS slabs, but still struggling with the little coins in NGC slabs.

For example, here’s a larger coin in PCGS slab I recently took with the same setup that think is focused better

jesbroken

I'm a very mediocre photographer, but as a photo allows I would prefer the 2nd photo.
Jim

Mr_Spud

I thought of something. Maybe it’s the white insert around the coins in NGC slabs that throws things off when I take a picture with my iphone. Maybe that’s why PCGS coins in slabs are easier to image than ones in NGC slabs. I might try making some kind of black slab cover with a hole in it where the coin is so the camera only focuses on the coin. Maybe then it’ll be easier to focus sharp and also easier to get the lighting right.

habaraca

@1northcoin said:
Obverse of #1, Reverse of #2.

Yeppers that

The_Dinosaur_Man

Why not use both? Since someone holding the coin in hand is going to tilt it back and forth to gauge luster and lighting effects, having both sets of images at yours and the customer's disposal will allow you to further show the dynamics of the coin.

coastaljerseyguy

If I was buying I'd prefer you used #2 for both obv & reverse, assuming that is what the coin truly looks like. Obv 1 appears to hide some flaws with too much light reflection.