Still Practicing Coin Photography...Comments, Please!

Preussen · February 22, 2006 4:44AM

...with mixed results

. I thought this one turned out pretty well; what do you think? New pic, but not a new purchase.

Prussia 2 Marks, 1901, Kaiser Wilhelm II. Most of the 2 Marks minted in 1901 were the commemorative for the 200th Anniversary of the kingdom, so very few "regular issue" coins were minted. Very scarce in Proof. - Preussen

Edited to add: Here is my "edited" version of the same pic.

ccrdragon · February 22, 2006 4:55AM

beautiful coin and picture....is the color acurate or is it a little golden?

SYRACUSIAN · February 22, 2006 5:24AM

I agree with the dragon. Cameo very well shown, I can even see the die polish marks, I'm just not sure if the true luster of it is well captured. Super coin!

drjules · February 22, 2006 5:33AM

Nice pic

One thing I notice is the background color is slightly different between the two pics. I always struggle to get the same color cast between the obverse and reverse of a coin and I have now started cropping the background away altogether and just matching the color of the coin itself, I find it less distracting.

Is the coin raw or in a holder?

Dr J

theboz11 · February 22, 2006 5:42AM

If the backgrounds are different, so are the coins color. Use your photo editor( brightness& contrast ) to make them the same and it should be perfect.

Numismatics · February 22, 2006 5:59AM

Nice image.

Preussen · February 22, 2006 6:48AM

Thanks everyone for the helpful comments

. The colors are pretty true representations of the coin, and to my eye, both sides have the same color (no toning). I didn’t change the lighting between shots, so I too was surprised to see the different shades in the NGC slab

.

I have no photo editing software beyond the basic program (MGI PhotoSuite) that came with the camera. I use it only to combine obverse and reverse pics into one. I’ve never tried to edit pics to change their appearance, and I have no idea how to crop the coin from the background.

- Preussen

rhound1977 · February 22, 2006 7:15AM

Shooting proofs are tough, then through a slab? A real pain, nice shot, I hate shooting through a slab.....

MSD61 · February 22, 2006 7:37AM

Shooting threw a slab is a pain. Your images came out pretty darn good if you ask me.

Cruzi · February 22, 2006 10:37AM

wybrit · February 22, 2006 10:50AM

Preussen, your "bad" picture is my "good" one. Nice picture.

Preussen · February 22, 2006 10:55AM

<< Preussen, your "bad" picture is my "good" one. Nice picture. >>

Thanks; For me, I think this one is very good. I never post the bad ones

. Based on some of the feedback, I guess I need to get a photo editing program. Suggestions anyone? Thanks. - Preussen

Aethelred · February 22, 2006 12:37PM

Preussen, someday I hope to be half the photographer you are now!

Preussen · February 22, 2006 8:58PM

<< Preussen, someday I hope to be half the photographer you are now! >>

I don't believe a word of it, but thanks

- Preussen

theboz11 · February 22, 2006 9:25PM

Here is a trip thru my photoshop with nothing more than brightness and contrast adjustments to make the background white.

Does the coin look better after this treatment.

3Mark · February 22, 2006 10:01PM

<< Here is a trip thru my photoshop with nothing more than brightness and contrast adjustments to make the background white.

Does the coin look better after this treatment.

>>

I have had this coin in hand and it is "black and white" and your "enhancements(sp)" make it more so. I'm not sure that is now a true representation of the coin. Anyway, good pics of a nice coin

Preussen · February 22, 2006 11:04PM

<< Does the coin look better after this treatment.

>>

Hmmm...It is certainly a more dramatic representation of the cameo effect (the coin is an NGC Proof-66 Ultra Cameo), but I wonder about the whole image editing thing.

To everyone: If you were to consider purchasing this coin & had only one photo on which to base your decision, which one would you prefer to see? Comments, please, and be honest (I'm sure you will) I can take it

- Preussen

Udo · February 23, 2006 2:44AM

The enhanced photo looks more spectacular, but I can't decide which one I'd prefer! Perhaps a balance between both the pictures?

Somtimes you must do the image editing thing, but not to make a coin look better as it really is! I sometimes am really afraid about how much bad details of some of my coins are visible in the pictures! Yes, you can do anything with an imaging software, you can even hide the coin's flaws and some people might really do this.

Answer yourself the following question:

Does the coin in my picture really look like it looks in hand?

A camera does not see the things in the same way than our eyes do, it's just a stupid machine.

That's one of the reasons why we always need to adjust the white balance.

Every coin needs its own setup, there's no setup that fits for every coin, so instead of playing too much with the camera settings to make the coin what it looks like in hand, I prefer the imaging software to do that job, it's much easier to accomplish than the camera.

coinpictures · February 23, 2006 3:12AM

Both sets of pictures have their appeal. On the first, you can definitely tell the cameo contrast, even if the difference between device and field is not as stark as in the second pics. Also, the first pics are fairly clearly non-doctored. The second pics, while more vivid in the display of contrast, would have me questioning the manipulation somewhat; they're almost TOO contrasty.

Either way, lovely pictures and lovely coin. Thanks for entering me in the giveaway!

Dentuck · March 11, 2006 1:16PM

If you're offering the coin for sale online, I would say show both sets of photos. In fact, show the coin from ten different angles!

If I only had one to choose from, though, (as a buyer), I'd prefer the first set.

Preussen · March 11, 2006 9:48PM

<< If you're offering the coin for sale online, I would say show both sets of photos. In fact, show the coin from ten different angles!

If I only had one to choose from, though, (as a buyer), I'd prefer the first set. >>

Thanks. The coin is not for sale; the question regarding which pic buyers might prefer to see was hypothetical

. I've added my own "edited" pic to my initial post. It represents the coin pretty well, I believe.

ManyQs · March 17, 2006 6:19PM

One of these days I may need to do what y'all are doing here -- fingers crossed -- but what amazes me is the advance in photography to this point where you can fine tune those pictures so much. I thought it was the greatest thing in the world back about 30 years ago when I was able to buy an Asahi Pentax camera. So amazing the advances in technology I've seen in my lifetime, and threads like this really bring that home.