New method for shooting lustred coins (LOTSA PICS)
coinpictures
Posts: 5,345 ✭✭✭
While I've been happy with my ability to shoot copper, I really have not liked the way my pictures of silver and nickel pieces have been turning out, especially those with lustre or toning.
So I rearranged my shooting setup and tried a number of different configurations. While the results are not perfect, and certainly not at the level of the pros here, I think I finally hit on one that I'm reasonably happy with.
Since the motivation for this was primarily to shoot merchandise for my Ebay store, I set some requirements:
It's not to scale, but you get the general idea. The wooden blocks raise the clear glass upon which the coin rests above the white background, so the background is out of focus. This serves several purposes: (1) the edges of the coin are sharp, (2) there is almost no shadow of the coin falling on the background, and (3) no surface texture of the background, thus making it easier to select and delete out to white or a color in Photoshop. When doing macro shots, even an apparently smooth piece of paper as a background for the coin invariably has *some* texture. This avoids that whole problem.
I tape a sheet of low-weight white paper to the top of the Ott light and hang it down as needed, e.g., when there is glare from a slab or proofs shining back up into the camera. This is how I was able to shoot these shots of a toned proof in a PCGS holder:
The sheet of paper lets enough light through but eliminates the glare. There's still a bit of murkiness to the shots, so I should probably try some different weights of paper, maybe some tissue paper (I don't have any). Much easier to deal with than the glare though.
For shooting lustrous coins I simply flip the sheet of paper up and over the back of the lamp. Nice thing about the Ott light is that it emits very little heat, much less than traditional bulbs.
I think the results on silver and nickel are an improvement of what I was able to do before. Since the shots are angled, the coins are slightly out-of-round, and there is a difference in sharpness of focus between near and far edge (not sure if there's a camera setting I can change to keep the focus across the entire coin, since one edge is effectively much closer to the camera than the other).
Any comments or suggestions appreciated!
So I rearranged my shooting setup and tried a number of different configurations. While the results are not perfect, and certainly not at the level of the pros here, I think I finally hit on one that I'm reasonably happy with.
Since the motivation for this was primarily to shoot merchandise for my Ebay store, I set some requirements:
- Nothing that required exorbitant outlay of funds for equipment beyond what I already had (no funky macro lenses, no esoteric lighting, etc.)
- The shooting and image manipulation process had to be relatively quick. No long drawn-out procedures in Photoshop like the concentric circles and squares deal.
- 1 Digital camera
- 1 Copy stand
- 1 Ott light
- 2 wooden blocks
- 1 sheet of plexiglass
- 1 sheet of white card stock
- 1 sheet of white paper
It's not to scale, but you get the general idea. The wooden blocks raise the clear glass upon which the coin rests above the white background, so the background is out of focus. This serves several purposes: (1) the edges of the coin are sharp, (2) there is almost no shadow of the coin falling on the background, and (3) no surface texture of the background, thus making it easier to select and delete out to white or a color in Photoshop. When doing macro shots, even an apparently smooth piece of paper as a background for the coin invariably has *some* texture. This avoids that whole problem.
I tape a sheet of low-weight white paper to the top of the Ott light and hang it down as needed, e.g., when there is glare from a slab or proofs shining back up into the camera. This is how I was able to shoot these shots of a toned proof in a PCGS holder:
The sheet of paper lets enough light through but eliminates the glare. There's still a bit of murkiness to the shots, so I should probably try some different weights of paper, maybe some tissue paper (I don't have any). Much easier to deal with than the glare though.
For shooting lustrous coins I simply flip the sheet of paper up and over the back of the lamp. Nice thing about the Ott light is that it emits very little heat, much less than traditional bulbs.
I think the results on silver and nickel are an improvement of what I was able to do before. Since the shots are angled, the coins are slightly out-of-round, and there is a difference in sharpness of focus between near and far edge (not sure if there's a camera setting I can change to keep the focus across the entire coin, since one edge is effectively much closer to the camera than the other).
Any comments or suggestions appreciated!
0
Comments
eBay Store
DPOTD Jan 2005, Meet the Darksiders
Thanks for the tips.
Rick
1836 Capped Liberty
dime. My oldest US
detecting find so far.
I dig almost every
signal I get for the most
part. Go figure...
A more natural lighting than normal fluorescent or incandescent lamps.
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
<< <i>I need that 2 pfennig! Over 5.3 million minted with that date & mm and I don't have one. Go figure... Very nice Mech. Shwerin 5 mark too! Your shots have made me decide to try taking coin pics again, I gave up after shooting each coin about 20 times to get 1 decent looking shot.
Thanks for the tips.
Rick >>
SSP: The 2 Pfennig is for sale. See sig.
As a general rule, I only take two to three shots per coin side to get a keeper. I don't move the camera, coin, or lamp between shots; I just change the exposure a few clicks up or down.
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
Spectacular shots!!! As good as any I've seen. Congrats!
<< <i>Since the shots are angled, the coins are slightly out-of-round, and there is a difference in sharpness of focus between near and far edge (not sure if there's a camera setting I can change to keep the focus across the entire coin, since one edge is effectively much closer to the camera than the other).
>>
I believe you need to raise the f number (that means smaller aperture), thus increasing the depth of focus.
If your camera has manual controls, simply adjust the aperture to a bigger number.
If not, you could try to switch to one of the shooting modes that decreases the aperture, usually those are landscape modes.
Zooming in on most cameras also decreases the aperture, but in this case you'll have to physically move the camera away from the coin.
Great pictures, by the way!
the back ground behind it. I don't do it that way, just use the angled glass method to shoot the coin through....
<< <i>
I believe you need to raise the f number (that means smaller aperture), thus increasing the depth of focus.
If your camera has manual controls, simply adjust the aperture to a bigger number.
If not, you could try to switch to one of the shooting modes that decreases the aperture, usually those are landscape modes.
Zooming in on most cameras also decreases the aperture, but in this case you'll have to physically move the camera away from the coin.
Great pictures, by the way! >>
I'm a novice when it comes to understanding the theory and terminology of photography, so a lot of the manual settings are a bit beyond me, but that being said:
1. f is already at maximum (11 I think) which is why there's a reasonable depth of detail on the coins; I'm thinking that on macro shots that suffices when doing a straight-on shot, but when you angle it and increase the distance from front to back, that exceeds what (this) camera can handle. I easily could be wrong though.
2. In the "super macro" mode that I'm using, there is no zoom. There's autofocus and moving the camera closer/farther. That's it.
Thanks for the advice/comments thus far!
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
<< <i>
1. f is already at maximum (11 I think) which is why there's a reasonable depth of detail on the coins; I'm thinking that on macro shots that suffices when doing a straight-on shot, but when you angle it and increase the distance from front to back, that exceeds what (this) camera can handle. I easily could be wrong though. >>
Yup, I think you can't go any further, 11 is already a lot.
<< <i>2. In the "super macro" mode that I'm using, there is no zoom. There's autofocus and moving the camera closer/farther. That's it. >>
Can you zoom in first, and then switch to the super macro mode?
If not, I don't really know what else can be done.
About the out of focus portions of the coins when angled: First, for Ebay I doubt it will make a huge difference. I mean, have you seen the crap that passes for photos on there? Yech. Yours are already a helluva lot nicer than a lot of those.
Second, try changing (experimenting with) the focus settings. For example, if your camera has both ESP and SPOT metering, see which works best. If you can change the location of the focus area, try that, too. If you can get the hang of manual settings, it will help you in the long run. Besides, it can be a lot of fun
What kind of camera are you using? It kinda sounds like an Olympus, with the non-zooming "super macro". I have that, but don't use it for coins as the regular macro actually seems to work better for me.
My OmniCoin Collection
My BankNoteBank Collection
Tom, formerly in Albuquerque, NM.
I also like your PDF web site!
Shep
<< <i>What kind of camera are you using? It kinda sounds like an Olympus, with the non-zooming "super macro". I have that, but don't use it for coins as the regular macro actually seems to work better for me. >>
Bingo! It was a cheapie (relatively speaking) Olympus C-7070 that I picked up from Dell when they had one of their coupon blowouts.
Of the 3 digital cameras I've owned (Nikon Coolpix 990, Konica Minolta DiMAGE somethingorother), this is by far the easiest to use out of the box.
I'll try adjusting the focus method and see if that makes a difference.
Thanks!
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." -Luke 11:9
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." -Deut. 6:4-5
"For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us." -Isaiah 33:22