Do these photos look good enough? Photography advice sought.

jmski52

I think that I'm capturing a good representation of the color, but I'm not sure that the detail is clear enough.

Sometimes it seems like sunlight is the best way to show the true colors, but it's hard to get that without getting some glare or without tilting the coin so that it appears eliptical in the photo (not optimal).

Bright lighting seems to overwhelm color when the coin's underlying luster increases the reflectivity.

For some reason, a low natural light seems to reveal the colors best but it seems to make it harder to pick up the detail. Photography guys, does that make sense?

Is there anything I should try that might show the dime's obverse colors better, or is a little more angle my only hope?

MsMorrisine

let me be the first to say:

send me the coins to compare,




The second ones are dark.


Is that cloth white?

PinkFloyd

You're on the right track!

I think Ms is onto something--is that cloth white?

Also, you can acheive better focus by ramping your Fstops up (smaller aperture, or hole) giving you a higher depth of field. Keep in mind that a smaller hole means a longer shutter time, so you're going to be more susceptible to camera shake. Not sure what sort of setup you're using, but if you really want to go crazy, some sort of stand setup is good where you can remotely trigger the shutter release.

I make no claim to be an expert though and there are folks who've been photographing a lot longer than I have that may have better advice. Especially on the issue of lighting/lamp placement.

jmski52

PF, I do have a copy stand, and I just might try a slower shutter speed. Thanks!

MsM, the cloth is mostly white, but after some launderings it's just a little less than bright white. Is there something I need to think about concerning the white?

The first pic is same as above. The second pic included a little extra (artifical) light.

Any improvement?

mgoodm3

Getting the color is all about lighting angle - you want the light nearly directly reflecting off of the coin. no problem with glare when raw, so it's easier to do. Diffused sunlight is good in this instance because it is diffused. You could do the same with any diffused light source. Kennedys look good with diffused light because they tend to be pretty shiny. diffused light also tends to be soft, so details will also be soft.

messydesk

What kind of picture do you want? Maximum color, maximum luster, or a mix? Striking the perfect balance between the two will take the most effort.

I'll assume you want a colorful picture of the dime that shows the detail, and that you're not concerned about showing depth of luster.

First, the type of bulbs you use won't matter, as long as you have the white balance set correctly. To maximize the colors, you want diffuse light. Daylight on an overcast day is about as diffuse as you can get, so your observation makes sense. The problem with daylight is that you can't control it very well. For this coin, get a piece of paper and fold it into thirds so you can stand it up like an 8 1/2" tall box with only three sides. Get your lights close to the paper and you'll see the colors pretty well. For the reverse of the dime, you need to have the lights higher so that you light up more than just the edges of the design.

I see by the EXIF info in your images that you're using an HP Photosmart 315. Unfortunately, there are a few useful, if not critical, things this camera can't do -- adjust the exposure, optical zoom, and macro mode (although you can get 1 foot away). You also only have a 2 MP detector. Results will be rather limited with this camera.

MsMorrisine

I'm not a photog.

but "white balance" is also used to get the color correct.


the white in the kennedy obverse seems a little blue. So the colors shown will be a little more blue, too.


was that Kennedy taken with light coming from the window and blue sky outside?

MikeInFL

<< <i>Is there anything I should try that might show the dime's obverse colors better, or is a little more angle my only hope? >>



A longer lens allowing you to move the camera farther out of the way for a "high" light (i.e. close to the lens) will help tremendously. It will allow you to reflect light through the toning, which brings out the color, much better. By doing so it will allow you to get "angled" color with little to no angle -- however, it will likely require significant monies invested.

The problem with angling coins is that they look oblong and unnatural, and it becomes difficult to have both the top and bottom of the coin in focus at the same time. Image manipulation in post processing will remove the former with some loss of critical image quality. Decreasing the size of the aperature (i.e. a higher f number) will help the latter, but only to a point and beyond f/8 you will typically start to get image degradation as well.

jmski52

Diffused sunlight is good in this instance because it is diffused. You could do the same with any diffused light source. Kennedys look good with diffused light because they tend to be pretty shiny. diffused light also tends to be soft, so details will also be soft.

Thank you, Mark. I appreciate the info.

I see by the EXIF info in your images that you're using an HP Photosmart 315. Unfortunately, there are a few useful, if not critical, things this camera can't do -- adjust the exposure, optical zoom, and macro mode (although you can get 1 foot away).

"white balance" is also used to get the color correct

The pictures I took today were with diffuse natural light on an overcast day. Sometimes, I adjust the light with my miniblinds on the West and North exposures in my office, depending on the time of day. I do have a newer camera, a Fugi FinePix S8000fd, which I believe has more adjustments, for aperture, white balance, macro & supermacro mode, and telescopic lens. It's been great for outdoor work when I'm on a job, but in the coin photo dept., it seems like the photos don't pick up the color as well. I will try some of the tips you've offered here to try for better color pickup. Thanks.

A longer lens allowing you to move the camera farther out of the way for a "high" light (i.e. close to the lens) will help tremendously. It will allow you to reflect light through the toning, which brings out the color, much better. By doing so it will allow you to get "angled" color with little to no angle -- however, it will likely require significant monies invested.

I did take these pics with a macro lens attachment on my Photosmart 315, and it also had my wide angle lens on it. Does a wide angle lens or a telephoto lens qualify as a "longer" lens? How about the telescopic feature on my FinePix - does that qualify as a "longer lens"?

I guess that I should start reading the manual.

Thanks for the comments, people.

magikbilly

Hi,

Have you set your monitor's gamma and white balance and color profile etc. to see what you are producing as correctly as possible? There is a site - Digitaldog something or other - that will walk you through those things.

Eric

MikeInFL

<< <i>A longer lens allowing you to move the camera farther out of the way for a "high" light (i.e. close to the lens) will help tremendously. It will allow you to reflect light through the toning, which brings out the color, much better. By doing so it will allow you to get "angled" color with little to no angle -- however, it will likely require significant monies invested.

I did take these pics with a macro lens attachment on my Photosmart 315, and it also had my wide angle lens on it. Does a wide angle lens or a telephoto lens qualify as a "longer" lens? How about the telescopic feature on my FinePix - does that qualify as a "longer lens"?

I guess that I should start reading the manual.

Thanks for the comments, people. >>



In short, you need to find a way to get the camera farther away from the coin.

I'm not sure of how to do it in your camera, but I would think the wide angle lens is NOT the lens to use.

The first think I would try is to get some distance. Then play around with your lighting.

For instance, I think you should experiment by moving the lights very close to the camera (or even above). For instance, there are types of halogen lamps that are very small and can be placed close to the lens/camera. I'm not sure what type of lighting you're using, but you might consider a halogen lamp (or two) of some type.

The key is the light reflecting off the surface of the coin at a sharp angle -- as close as possible to the 90 degrees to the coin/camera angle.

That's why angled shots can show the toning so well.

You have a HUGE advantage with the coins being raw, so you should be able to really capture these coins' color.

Just continue to pay with distance and lighting angles. Play with multiple lights. Diffusers also work well as Mark suggested above.