What to do on my day off. Take pics.

mgoodm3

I have been experimenting with taking pic of coins with luster. I think the best approach for my taste is a mixture of high angle diffuse light and a couple of lower angle direct lights. The high angle provides general lighting for the fislds and such and the direct lower-angle will bring out the luster. this is what I have gotten this morning. I already posted a walker that I photographed this AM.

Weiss

Outstanding coins, and outstanding shots.

ms70

Nice work. What kind of camera?

mgoodm3

Nikon 5400. Oh I angle the camera to about 15 or 20 degrees. Have to correct the perspective on the final pics.

TONEDDOLLARS

Nice work! I wonder how it would work with toners???

Stuart

Mark: Those are excellent photos which really display the full mint luster of the coins. Your coin photography and lighting techniques are outstanding!

JrGMan2004

Awesome pics! I love that Merc... looks almost frosted, kinda like a Merc I had that now resides in Lucy's Album...

KollectorKing

X'cellent pics

airplanenut

Lookin' good

SDCollector

Wow! The Morgan is gorgeous.

Barry

Very nice! You may be getting a call from Heritage soon...

byergo

That is hands-down without question the finest coin photography that I've ever seen!

ss350camaro

Very nice !!!
Is the date doubled on that Merc ?

FullHorn

Great work and through plastic I have had some pics, that when trying to capture the luster they seem to look almost wet or like there is oil on them like the Washington.

mgoodm3

A couple more from today. Works good for Cu too. Here is a toned frankie. With the extra direct light the color is washed out a bit, but not too bad. The indian cent is just how it looks in real life. This cent has been tough getting a nice pic of until today.

The key to the technique is figuring out how much indirect light to use, too much and it washes out the luster too little and you don't get the nice fill light on the fields and relief.

CoinAddict

Those pictures are great.

TheLiberator

<< <i> I have been experimenting with taking pic of coins with luster. I think the best approach for my taste is a mixture of high angle diffuse light and a couple of lower angle direct lights. The high angle provides general lighting for the fislds and such and the direct lower-angle will bring out the luster. this is what I have gotten this morning. I already posted a walker that I photographed this AM. >>



Acrtually, I do 3d lighting in computer animation for a living (see url below )and the technique you are describing is the EXACT same technique I use to define form and contrast in 3d space. Also, the same goes for studio photography so you are right on the money with your photos and lighting setup! I haven't done much selling yet but when I do you can bet I am going to have a key, two fills with one fill slightly tinted to give it some warmth around the edges. And, since I am a collector that does most of my buying online due to geographic reasons, I can tell you that a picture is worth a thousand....dollars!