Anything wrong with doctoring photos if...

...the intent is to show the coin as it truly looks? It feels wrong to me so I haven't been doing it for auctions. Instead I struggle over and over with pictures. But is there really anything ethically wrong with this?
It came up in another thread so I figured I'd ask opinions. This has probably been discussed before. Excuse me. I wonder how others feel about the topic.
It came up in another thread so I figured I'd ask opinions. This has probably been discussed before. Excuse me. I wonder how others feel about the topic.
Coin Photography Services / Everyman Registry set / BHNC #213
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In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
-Paul
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 448
<< <i>I don't believe there is anything wrong with adjusting your images post-acquisition in order to make the image appear more accurate for one quality or another. However, quite often what happens is that the overall image takes on the feel of a cartoon or something similar. >>
Agree with TomB. I also would add I don't go for the ol' 1-3 degree tilt. Where I have to get a stiff neck turning and twisting the coin every which way to try and get what the image shows. If I have to do that, then back it goes!!
However, there is a fine line between enhancing photographs to make them appear more as the coin does in hand and making them look too good.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
And I sometimes edit out dust specks- no matter how hard I try, I still get flecks of dust on my scanner sometimes. But I leave the dust specks in the picture if they are lying over a flaw- I try not to edit out any marks or nicks or anything like that. The intent is to show the coin as it is, both good and bad points, without distractions.
-Randy Newman
Large image is the original...
My Composite shows a slight Hue Color Adjustment to match the coins TRUE in hand look.
Notice the Green Hue in the Original... which is not accurate.
ORIGINAL
ADJUSTED
-sm
The Maddy Rae Collection
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“Doctoring” an image is making changes with the intention of misrepresenting the coin. These might range from enhancing saturation, or blurring portions, to removing scratches and other defects or exaggerating the fields so the coin looks more like a perfect proof. This is deception and is unacceptable.
I would also make a distinction between an image used to sell or definitively present a specific coin, which should show the coin as it is, and one used as a generic illustration which might be idealized.