Hurray!!!! -- I can take pics of toned coins!
FrattLaw
Posts: 3,290 ✭✭
So I've been trying and trying to take decent pics of toned coins -- especially my Peace $. Well I have had little success with this coins since most of them require a tilt to really capture the color. Well I tried the 45 degree tilted glass suggestion and here's what I got. It was rather simplistic, a piece of glass, a clamp on light, a felt background and a piece of wax paper. It took about 5 minutes of playing with the tilt angle and light but I think it is amazing. No fancy photoshop alterations, just cropped it and posted it here.
Before --- without the tilted glass
After -- the wax paper diffusing the light really helped with the glare
Thanks for looking ---
Michael
Before --- without the tilted glass
After -- the wax paper diffusing the light really helped with the glare
Thanks for looking ---
Michael
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Comments
By the way, nice colors on that 25 Peace.
<< <i>Welcome to the club! >>
That's exactly how I felt -- everyone else was a member but me. I gotta refine my technique and build a set up to take better pics, but at least its a start -- even if I am cheating.
<< <i>By the way, nice colors on that 25 Peace. >>
Got this one at a local show raw for $50. Sent it off to NGC -- graded MS65. So it wasn't a bad purchase.
Michael
Good job! It's not easy getting good toned coin pics. At least not for me.......
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
<< <i>Got this one at a local show for $50. Its graded NGC MS65. So it wasn't a bad purchase. >>
Wow, even if that was a plain vanilla 25 it was a great buy, but with that color you stole it.
Here are two of what I consider to be my best photos of toned coins, naturally both Morgans:
Thanks,
Michael
Looking for PCGS AU58 Washington's, 32-63.
One of these days, though...
1) Your pictures seem to have a "red" tint to them. Get an Ott lamp. The "swirl" type NOT the long tube type. Closer to natural light.
2) Must angle the coin "just right" to get the colors to show correctly or the toned coin won't look toned in the picture. I often use some chewed gum (put back in it's rapper for course...the aluminum on the inside) to use as a mallible material to balance and angle the slab on as I shoot. You can use silly puddy if you have it. While playing around I've noticed that the best shot for the toned coin will be the one where the SHADOW given off by my set-up is DIRECTLY ON the coin so I have to adjust it accordingly. This tells me I can do something better. It's a matter of the focus mode (ie MACRO mode) vs moving the camer farther away. I need to look into a tripod or something but haven't had the time.
3) Use a BLACK background. This will keep the picture from underexposure. NGC slabs are tough in that the WHITE slab reflects into the camera (obviously) and often screws up the iris. Makes the pictures too dark. PCGS slabs are easier in that you can lay a piece of black cloth behind it (the clear slab). I imagine ANACS slabs would have the same problem.
EDIT: Older threads
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I've turned to using soft white light with a black background for toned coins and it seems to be working out OK. On some coins I still use the Ott light and angling the coin - then I use software to get the coin back to round and it seems to work out pretty well. One thing that I think also works well is if you can edit the coin off the background and put it on a neutral background. It seems to give you the ability to get a light source very close to the coin, and then eliminate the glare.