Russ - Help me with Kennedy pics!

FC57Coins

Russ:

Or anyone else for that matter - what should I be doing to get the really great pics like Russ gets?

Frank

(I know - get better coins - got it out of your system now?)

Russ

Looks like your camera does macro just fine, so that leaves three things you need to be concerned about:

1. Lighting
2. Lighting
3. Lighting

Once you get those three things down, then you can work on lighting.

GE Reveal bulbs, two to three of them in various wattages coming in at different angles. Exact wattages and angles are going to vary from camera to camera, so you'll need to experiment until you get the look you want.

Russ, NCNE

FC57Coins

AHHHHHHHHHH! you speak with wisdom! I've only been using one GE bulb - good tip!

Thanks!

Frank

Russ

Also, if your camera has white balance adjustment, you'll need to play with it a bit. Looks like it's off in the scan.

Russ, NCNE

ursabear

FC57Coins - Russ is the man on this... but I do have one thing to add...

Position the coin such that a reflection of the light source doesn't show up in the mirrors or other shiny surfaces of the coin. Use tracing paper to filter if you can't get the glare off.

Now if I can just do half as good as Russ does, I'll be stylin'

DanC

We are going to test a theory though.

I maintain that our RDC-4300's, while identical - take different pix under the same light source.

In order to get good ones, I'm using 3 fixtures (GE Reveal), obliquely lighting from slightly above and way above
just have to mess with different combinations of wattage to get the look you're after.

It's amazing what a huge difference 20 watts makes.



I still have a long way to go... but it's improving.

LanLord

DanC, great job on the 98s. That's a beautiful shot. What ever you did, keep doing that.

DHeath

Dan, stop that right now. You'll make me buy stuff I already have looking for perfect!

DanC

<blush>

Thanks guys.

That one has two overhead 40watt Reveals, and one low oblique 75 watt.
I took about 10 pics to adjust the lights so that there was no glare.

It's definitely more art than science - and it's STILL not where I'd like them to be...
but it's the best shot I've taken yet, so we must be getting *somewhere*.

NoviceKris

Thanks for the new wallpaper image, Dan.

Kris

DanC