Working on my toned coin photography shot through the slab - feedback requested!

abbyme24

I've been experimenting with coin photography for the last several months. I feel as though I have gotten my technique down pretty well with coins (both slabbed and raw) using off-axis lighting.

The difficult part has been accurately photographing the toning of slabbed coins. This stems from the requirement of on-axis (i.e. axial) lighting to completely capture a coins toning. When a coin is raw, this is very simple to do with a standard axial-lighting setup because the light is only reflecting off the coin. However, slabbed coins introduce glare from the plastic that (as far as I know) is physically impossible to prevent due to the direction of the light that is required to reflect the toning. A polarizing filter helps to reduce, but cannot eliminate the glare.

I recently decided to stop fiddling with the photography setup itself and instead try to use photoshop to remove the glare. Here is the result:

Would love to hear from others who have struggled with the same issues and would appreciate any feedback!

ndeagles

Looks very nice to me, wish I had skills like that!

Pedzola

I think your images came out great. In my experience this is a tough technique to get perfect shots with. I have always found the need to do a lot of post-processing especially to increase contrast.

I recently used axial lighting to capture a deeply toned early dollar. I too have always fought with lighting to get it consistent across the coin and without glare etc.

On mine you can see the glare issue most prevalent on the obverse 1795, and reverse "states."

Lucky for me I don't often have to shoot coins like this. When I do it's a lot of fiddling and the results are usually passable but not perfect. You are doing great.

Here is my homemade box:

abbyme24

@ndeagles said:
Looks very nice to me, wish I had skills like that!

Thanks for the feedback! To be honest a lot of it is equipment vs. technique - coin photography is well documented and not too difficult to implement techniques that others have come up with.

abbyme24

@Pedzola said:
I think your images came out great. In my experience this is a tough technique to get perfect shots with. I have always found the need to do a lot of post-processing especially to increase contrast.

I recently used axial lighting to capture a deeply toned early dollar. I too have always fought with lighting to get it consistent across the coin and without glare etc.

On mine you can see the glare issue most prevalent on the obverse 1795, and reverse "states."

Lucky for me I don't often have to shoot coins like this. When I do it's a lot of fiddling and the results are usually passable but not perfect. You are doing great.

Here is my homemade box:

Appreciate the feedback!

That dollar looks fantastic - was that shot through a slab? I don’t see the gasket edges but I know sometimes people photoshop them out.

I like that axial light box a lot. Where did you source the glass from?

Also do you mind sharing the lighting/camera setup you use?

Pedzola

Glass from home depot. Sold as picture frame relacement glass. I experimented with clear acrylic also but found glass works best. I did also buy a glass cutting hand tool to cut it down to my desired size. And admittedly I broke 1 or 2 before getting it right.

Camera is canon sl3. Light came from a large photo studio softbox from amazon with a 150 watt equivalent philips led daylight bulb. The softbox provides a large sized consistent light source. I masked parts of it with a black fabric to get the right sized light. Not a perfect setup but it works!

Bikergeek

First thought: your original pic is not only toned, but it's a proof coin. That is hard to capture - and you did a great job!

Regarding the glare issue off slabs - see this thread. I started it extolling the virtues of mineral oil, but I did switch to Isopar L (compass oil) per the recommendations in the thread. I had tried in the past to use axial lighting and it was awfully fidgety and I stopped trying.

PeakRarities

Those pics look delightful to me, I think you did a wonderful job and I believe @flyingal used a similar technique to shoot the 1877 proof set.

I need to do some more experimentation to capture color like that, and as you say it can be frustrating with the glare. Seems to me like you know what you're doing!

abbyme24

@Bikergeek said:
First thought: your original pic is not only toned, but it's a proof coin. That is hard to capture - and you did a great job!

Regarding the glare issue off slabs - see this thread. I started it extolling the virtues of mineral oil, but I did switch to Isopar L (compass oil) per the recommendations in the thread. I had tried in the past to use axial lighting and it was awfully fidgety and I stopped trying.

Thanks! Yes toning + proof + slabbed is the most difficult in my experience, because you won’t be able to capture any toning without axial lighting which equals glare.

The oil trick is amazing! I use that because it’s so much quicker than trying to buff out hairlines in a slab and the clarity is superb. However I’ve just been using argon hair oil I’ve had in hand - thanks for the recommendation on compass oil!

abbyme24

@DeplorableDan said:
Those pics look delightful to me, I think you did a wonderful job and I believe @flyingal used a similar technique to shoot the 1877 proof set.

I need to do some more experimentation to capture color like that, and as you say it can be frustrating with the glare. Seems to me like you know what you're doing!

Appreciate the kind words - it is really mostly tweaking color curves to bring out the toning while removing the glare. I think mine is pretty “conservative” compared to how juiced toned TVs can look - it is closer to the flash of toning you get when you look at it in just the right light. I always find if nearly impossible to actually see the toning that TVs represent.

Just looked at the thread you referenced, and wow what an incredible set!! @FlyingAl I am supremely jealous that you had an opportunity to photograph that set and equally impressed by your photography skills! Would love to hear more about your technique but I totally understand if you want to keep it as trade secret.

PeakRarities

@abbyme24 said:

@DeplorableDan said:
Those pics look delightful to me, I think you did a wonderful job and I believe @flyingal used a similar technique to shoot the 1877 proof set.

I need to do some more experimentation to capture color like that, and as you say it can be frustrating with the glare. Seems to me like you know what you're doing!

Appreciate the kind words - it is really mostly tweaking color curves to bring out the toning while removing the glare. I think mine is pretty “conservative” compared to how juiced toned TVs can look - it is closer to the flash of toning you get when you look at it in just the right light. I always find if nearly impossible to actually see the toning that TVs represent.

Just looked at the thread you referenced, and wow what an incredible set!! @FlyingAl I am supremely jealous that you had an opportunity to photograph that set and equally impressed by your photography skills! Would love to hear more about your technique but I totally understand if you want to keep it as trade secret.

He's currently away at base straining/boot camp for the Air force, I'm sure he'd be happy to give you some tips upon his return.

robec

I’ve had a little luck with a hybrid version of axial shooting.
About a year ago I saw a YouTube video made by an American teaching in Australia. He had a very simple approach to the setup that looked so much less cumbersome that the usual axial setups I’ve seen as well as more mobil for easy adjustments.

The apparatus he used to hold the glass is the part that really caught my attention..But when I went looking for it I was stunned to find out they were north of $500.

After seeing this I went out searching the internet to find a way to make one a little less costly. For under $20 I found something very similar , but it had no base so it could free stand. I had to clamp it on something stable to weigh it down.

Since I bolted my Jansjo LED lights to the copystand I had 3 fairly heavy bases stored away. I was able to attach the base to the axial apparatus which made it much easier to handle.

The hybrid part come into play by using one light tow, aimed at the glass and 2 lights aimed down on the coin to light up different parts of the coin

With this setup I was still getting slab glare, but was able to get get a decent photo but taking 3 or 4 shots of the coin. Each shot had an area of the coin that was glare free. By putting each shot in separate Photoshop layers and using layer masks to cover the glared area it is possible to have a glare free shot through the slab proof coin photo. Raw would certainly be quicker and easier. It’s not perfect but for personal use it works great

abbyme24

@robec Thank you so much for sharing that technique and your setup. Those results look amazing.

I was wondering if doing a composite of multiple images would work well - I had noticed during my experimentations that it was quite easy to get roughly 1/3 of a toned coin without glare. I am a novice when it comes to photoshop, but am familiar with layer masks. Are you basically just stacking the 3-4 photos and then on each one using a layer mask to remove the glared section?

abbyme24

I took some more pictures and did some more tweaking today. The white balance was off in the original pic and I fine-tuned the color curve to be a bit closer to how it actually looks in hand.

Curious what you guys think of the red background? I like how GC images are immediately obvious because of the blue background, and I am trying to build a brand myself (mainly just dealing the coins I get bored of/upgrade for now, but as an entrepreneur who knows if it becomes more than that). Not sure if it distracts from the toning at all, I personally don't think the GC blue is distracting but maybe my red is.

Here is the axially-lit version (both red and white background versions for comparison):

johnhenry9009

Absolutely beautiful photo with little to no blurriness. When it comes to the background, I think the red one is nicer on the eyes; it also makes the blurriness that is present less noticeable in comparison to the pure-white background, but it also acts as a very minor distraction from the coin for me. Other than that I like the red and again it's a great photo.

Creg

Nice job, OP. Thanks for the info, too, @robec.

robec

@abbyme24 said:
@robec Thank you so much for sharing that technique and your setup. Those results look amazing.

. Are you basically just stacking the 3-4 photos and then on each one using a layer mask to remove the glared section?

That’s the basic idea. I do take a few photos making sure each one has a different non glared area. I’ll then copy one photo and paste it onto one of the other photos. This puts each of the 2 photos in separate layers. Then add a layer mask on the top layer, use the brush tool and brush over the glared area of the top layer which will reveal and replace it with the non glared area from the coin in the bottom layer. After a little tweaking to where it looks as seamless as I can make it I merge the 2 layers. This turns the photo into one layer.

Next, take that photo, copy it and paste it onto one of the other photos with a different non glared area and go through the same routine again..

There are probably easier ways of doing this for PS experts. My knowledge is only basic. If you have trouble and need how to photos I can make you a picture tutorial of the PS steps.

pmh1nic

All I can say is great photos.

calgolddiver

great photos from both @robec and @abbyme24.

Bikergeek

@abbyme24 I played with backgrounds for a while, and I did a gradient toward the horizontal center of the coin for my sets. But over time I just made them PNGs with transparent background, as that is most flexible for the web or for presentations in documents. Here are a few of the old gradient-backed ones, just for grinz...

The_Dinosaur_Man

This is the second most challenging aspect of coin photography. @abbyme24 you got it figured out.

Here are some of my efforts:

abbyme24

@robec said:

@abbyme24 said:
@robec Thank you so much for sharing that technique and your setup. Those results look amazing.

. Are you basically just stacking the 3-4 photos and then on each one using a layer mask to remove the glared section?

That’s the basic idea. I do take a few photos making sure each one has a different non glared area. I’ll then copy one photo and paste it onto one of the other photos. This puts each of the 2 photos in separate layers. Then add a layer mask on the top layer, use the brush tool and brush over the glared area of the top layer which will reveal and replace it with the non glared area from the coin in the bottom layer. After a little tweaking to where it looks as seamless as I can make it I merge the 2 layers. This turns the photo into one layer.

Next, take that photo, copy it and paste it onto one of the other photos with a different non glared area and go through the same routine again..

There are probably easier ways of doing this for PS experts. My knowledge is only basic. If you have trouble and need how to photos I can make you a picture tutorial of the PS steps.

I will give this a shot and will take you up on that offer if I have any issues. Thanks!!

@Bikergeek said:
@abbyme24 I played with backgrounds for a while, and I did a gradient toward the horizontal center of the coin for my sets. But over time I just made them PNGs with transparent background, as that is most flexible for the web or for presentations in documents. Here are a few of the old gradient-backed ones, just for grinz...

Beautiful pictures! I do keep png copies with no background for use but for my website I wasn’t sure which direction to head in.

@The_Dinosaur_Man said:
This is the second most challenging aspect of coin photography. @abbyme24 you got it figured out.

Here are some of my efforts:

Thanks for the feedback and your photos look great!! If this is the second most difficult I’m almost scared to ask- what is the first?

The_Dinosaur_Man

@abbyme24 try capturing the complete edge of a coin. Not a partial edge, I'm talking about unraveling the edge like a banner.

For those that have dabbled in building websites and are familiar with CSS, there is a styling property that rounds out the edges of photographs without Photoshop:

border-radius: 100%;

Of course, when the image is re-downloaded, it will come back with the corners still present.