A little shadow is a good thing

shylock

I see so many photos where all the effort is placed on hitting the coin with as much uniform light as possible. But shadow can be a good thing, if it's minimal and compliments the design. From a retail standpoint, buyers are better off with a light blasted image that reveals all. So are sellers if they want the sale to stick. But I've always enjoyed the more realistic look a little shadow adds to a coin, similar to how it looks in hand depending on how you're holding it. Here's the same Lincoln at different positions under the same light, none of which is very intense.

DHeath

The shadow does a tremendous job of highlighting beard detail in picture #1. Great post.

anoldgoat

MS68

Dog97

Mine always look like that. I think I have too much shadow though. My camera still baffles my feeble mind.

nwcs

Absolutely true, Paul. Shadow is a photographer's best friend. Also, another tip: don't be afraid to take lots and lots of pics at different angles and lighting positions. It usually takes a lot of pictures to find the gem.

robertpr

It usually takes a lot of pictures to find the gem.

Agreed. I usually do 4 or 5 pics of each side of a coin with different lighting angles and different numbers/types of lightsources and then look at them on my computer to find the one I want to use. Some coins are best with one lightsourse, some with two, some with direct sunlight, etc.

kyleknap

Very good examples, Paul! TTT for a great post!

Kyle

mgoodm3

For most coins with busts, I think that lighting from above makes nice natural looking shadows. Kinda like you would see if Lincoln was outside and you were looking at him. Most of the time I use a combo of the right pic (10 or 11 O'clock) and the bottom pic (1 or 2 O'Clock). That's just my preference. Also fills in the luster. Very nice pics. Very nice coin. hard to make that Lincoln look bad.

ddbird

The shadowing in #3 shows alot more contact marks then the rest. Great pics!

Lakesammman

Nice pictures and examples. They almost look like 3 different varieties!

The shadow is critical for varieties. Throw a shadow line on a subtle variety and it jumps right out at you!

Crackout

Shylock, I agree that shadows make the coin look more like a "coin". But I also agree with robertpr, that different types of lighting bring out the best in different types of coins. This Jefferson has much more intense light that shows the true essence of the coin's luster, but the light hits the coin in a direction that also shows the shadows. This lighting truely reveals how this coin looks in hand.