Coin Photography 101 Help!!! UPDATED PICTURE

lkrarecoins

Good Morning....Thanks for all of your helpful information.

I took another stab at the 1921 Morgan last night. I made a few adjustments based on the advice given by fellow forum members.

Although, I dont think it is perfect, I have definitely improved my photograph...Compare the two Morgans below.

Thanks again









Howdy Y'all...

I purchased a Canon Elph SD600 recently as a general use, all-around camera for photographing family, landscape, coins, etc...

I bought a nice copy stand from a fellow forum member a couple of months ago and have been practicing taking pictures of
various types of coins. I chose a Morgan dollar & St. Gaudens $20 gold piece (see attached pix) to hone my skills (or lack thereof), but I have been very frustrated.

After numerous (100's) of pix, I am still unhappy with my results and have turned to you all for assistance. The coins are not very well detailed,
and look very washed out and unnatural. I havent been able to capture any luster efficiently, as well. Although, they look mah-velous in the viewfinder Seeing all the beautiful coins on this forum, I know that I can get pictures of that quality, or at least close enough to be content.

I believe this camera is more than capable of taking good macro pix optically, so I am confident that my photographing skills need some tuning up.

I've been using the following settings/methods:

-Manual White Balancing on a white sheet of copy paper (seems to work ok being that the Morgans are no longer yellow)
-Zero Exposure (I've adjusted this up and down, but, see no major improvement)
-Shutter (ISO) - (Tried all settings, but, again, didnt make any difference)
-Optical Macro Zoom (didnt notice much difference versus Digital Zoom)
-2 Reveal 75Watt bulbs, diffused through a milk jug, at approx 45 degree angles (approx. 10:00AM & 2:00PM orientation)
-Spot Focus mode (not sure which mode is better for macro photography)
-2 Second timer (to minimize vibration)
-No flash
-All lighting off, except the 2 Reveal bulbs.

Based on my shoddy pictures, can you make some suggestions to try and improve these pictures? They look nothing like these coins in hand.


Thanks for all advice...

Len

MrBreeze

I am a picture newbie also. The first thing I can tell you is that, in my opinion, gold coins are the hardest to get perfect. The things I have concentrated on, lately, that I think have improved my pictures are:

1. Lighting. I always have all the lights on, plus two focused lights, using either a gooseneck lamp or a diffused flashlight.
2. Black Cardboard Background

CoinResource

Poor lighting. You need to work on how you light them. Multiple lights too, might help.

JJM

that morgan looks familiar

Barry

In my experience, diffusers work well for Proof coins, but not for MS coin. Try without the milk jugs.

Another thing to try is regular incandescent bulbs, rather than Reveal (and re-setting your white balance.) I never liked Reveal bulbs.

mgoodm3

Get your lights up to a higher angle if possible. No diffusion.

lkrarecoins

that morgan looks familiar

lkrarecoins

How about aperture settings? Do I need to experiment with this?

mgoodm3

Aperture somewhere in the 5-6 range will be fine, unless you are shooting at an angle.

ISO at the lowest setting.

Cam40

photoshop

lkrarecoins

any photography experts around on a Friday night???

Thx in advance...
Len

Akbeez

Like others have said -- Lighting is Everything. Until things are right for a specific lot, I shoot usually 3-5 shots per coin to get a good one with various lighting angles. Proofs are the hardest (too reflective). You want the best depth of field for clarity, use low ASA's, high apurtures. Does that Elph accept a closeup lens? My Canon G-3 does a fine job. Use the bundled RemoteCapture software for through-computer monitor viewing. "Paint your coins with light", I was once told.
Wayne

morgansforever

Pic taken with a 6 year old Fuji Fine Pix 2.0 MP.

I use a natural light 75 watt bulb, covered with white paper.

Not the best pic, but works for me.

Pic was taken about 4" above the specimen. Looks to be a soild 4.

stev32k

I agree with some other comments about removing the milk jugs. Place the lights close to the camera and as high as you can making sure the coin is well lit, and the camera is not blocking any of the light. It almost looks like the camera is so close to the coin that you can't get good lighting. You might be able to improve the lighting by using aluminum foil as a reflector. Make a circle of the foil and place it around the coin. Adjust your lights so they shine inside the circle and do not cast any shadows. Your white balance also appears to be off so try using an incandescent setting. If you have software that can display the histogram adjust your shutter speed and aperture to expose to the right.

Akbeez

Morgansforever, nice. Are you using the wood shims to tilt the coin's light angle? I actually use a old hardback Red Book as a base for the coin (placed on the cover), and slide a pencil in or out to tilt the coin to the desired angle. A small piece of dark material behind the coin makes a nice contrast backdrop. White balance setting will differ with the metal type, gold vs silver... W

lkrarecoins

Any photography advice on my new and slightly improved photo (1921 Morgan) is appreciated...thx