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Coins are yellowish/orange when shooting raw
milkcoin
Posts: 583 ✭
I wonder why I always have this problem. It's not my white balance either! That's set perfectly well. When I shoot raw coins with my Canon, the color of the base metal always has to be adjusted in post editing and dim down the saturation because it hardly ever looks like the actual silver color of the coin. why is this? it's usually the closer my lights get to the coin, the yellower the coin looks in the picture.
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what are the exact lights you are using and camera? also the color of the background could be throwing it off.
gotta say it. most times when color is off, it is white balance with point n shoots. if it is a dslr, it is a whole other sport.
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I have found that the pre-set white balance modes that come with most cameras are better than nothing, but not all that great in practice. To get what you really want, learn how to use the custom white balance feature and re-calibrate with an 18% grey card every time you change your lighting setup.
You can always adjust this with post-processing but it's tons easier to have it right before you shoot.
match up the types of bulbs you are using to the setting in the menu that looks like a camera, then white balance and there are selections like incandescent, fluourescent etc. - i'd choose one of those. if you enter those menus, then there are a few more options to be specific to the exact lighting you have.
my 60w clear reveal bulbs are set to the camera via this path. menu-shooting menu-white balance-incandescent-center ab/gm. sometimes i'll go to B2/B1.
for coins under fluorescent i do the warm-white, white or cool-white, depending on the results.
here are some of my other settings
jpeg fine
iso - 200 to 800
long exposure on to reduce vibrations
image size 4288.2848 12.2m
i switch from manual to priority mode depending on how i want to control the f/stop. usually it is from 3.8 to 8.0.
wide metering
the +/- button i have from 1.0 to 2.0
in manual mode, there is an adjustment wheel with reeds
this will help show what all the things on the screen mean.
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<< <i> im using just regular lights... >>
If by "regular" lights you mean incandescent (the bulbs with dome tops), this is your problem.
Your typical incandescent bulb produces a "hot" light (a redder light). You may want to go with something like halogens that produce a "cool" (light blue/white) light.
I know some incandescent bulbs are made to produce "cool" colors, but I haven't tried them so I can't say how well they work for coins. I believe Lance (lkeigwin) uses incandescent bulbs with impressive results.
<< <i>Are you SURE your white balance is set correctly?
I have found that the pre-set white balance modes that come with most cameras are better than nothing, but not all that great in practice. To get what you really want, learn how to use the custom white balance feature and re-calibrate with an 18% grey card every time you change your lighting setup.
You can always adjust this with post-processing but it's tons easier to have it right before you shoot. >>
very sure it is set. i custom set it with one of the grey balance cards.
regarding the bulbs, ive tried incandescent and now am onto those cfl daylight bulbs (expensive!). white balance is set, because on 95% of my slabbed coins i have no problems. its just shooting raw coins with the light on them. its weird, it should just take a picture of the natural colors of the coin. silver/silver not yellow/silver.
as the color changes as the bulb warms up
The problem is either with the bulb changing color, or the white balance is not set correctly
Also are all other lights OFF
One of the advantages of RAW is you can set the white balance after
just take the photo on the gray card or of the gray card and you can capture the correct white balance after
using Lightroom or Camera RAW
What do you use for post processing?
<< <i>
<< <i> im using just regular lights... >>
If by "regular" lights you mean incandescent (the bulbs with dome tops), this is your problem.
Your typical incandescent bulb produces a "hot" light (a redder light). You may want to go with something like halogens that produce a "cool" (light blue/white) light.
I know some incandescent bulbs are made to produce "cool" colors, but I haven't tried them so I can't say how well they work for coins. I believe Lance (lkeigwin) uses incandescent bulbs with impressive results. >>
Lance uses halogen indoor floodlights. You can buy GE PAR 30 in both longneck and shortneck versions at WalMart.
Todd aka Blu62vette has recommended the 5000K color temp incandescent bulbs, but they make my images too yellow. Halogens work best for me.
<< <i>I wonder why I always have this problem. It's not my white balance either! That's set perfectly well. When I shoot raw coins with my Canon, the color of the base metal always has to be adjusted in post editing and dim down the saturation because it hardly ever looks like the actual silver color of the coin. why is this? it's usually the closer my lights get to the coin, the yellower the coin looks in the picture. >>
Try putting an airtite over the raw coin before shooting. This will at least confirm that the plastic is causing your problem.
people getting yellowish images are 99% using incorrect camera settings, unless the camera is simply too old and cannot be properly adjusted. also it is possible to get incorrect hues from improper lighting angles and/or ambient light.
and here is a coin imaged with the settings i posted and 2 of the above bulbs. i may have changed the iso from 320 to 200, but that is negligible. just a quick-shot with no effort put towards quality.
This sounds backwards:
long exposure on to reduce vibrations
Do you mean a delayed exposure?
<< <i>All sounds like a camera setting.
This sounds backwards:
long exposure on to reduce vibrations
Do you mean a delayed exposure? >>
yes. a long run (many hours) of reading legal precedents, laws, constitution, bill of rights, etc has effectively nuked my emotions, intellect etc. along with no sleep.
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offline for **serious **family issues
<< <i>
<< <i>All sounds like a camera setting.
This sounds backwards:
long exposure on to reduce vibrations
Do you mean a delayed exposure? >>
yes. a long run (many hours) of reading legal precedents, laws, constitution, bill of rights, etc has effectively nuked my emotions, intellect etc. along with no sleep.
. >>
A newborn is having a similar effect over here.
Also many of the moderns circulation type have the early stage yellow toning that comes from the mint set cellophane unless they were dipped.
is to use a 18% gray card
Silver often isn't a "silver" as you think it should be, it often is a little yellow/brownish.
edit: since the first part of my advice probably didn't apply to the situation I got rid of it.
<< <i>White balance setting on the camera makes no difference on the end product with RAW except that it gets you in the right neighborhood for post-processing. The WB setting on the camera doesn't change the image file, just tells it how to present the image.
A couple things about the color of silver. If the light that you are shooting under and the light you are viewing under are different, the coin will often look a bit different. So when you compare what is on the screen to what you see in hand will be a little different - competing WB's.
Silver often isn't a "silver" as you think it should be, it often is a little yellow/brownish. >>
I think he is shooting raw coins....
Expect to adjust white balance when editing. Should take maybe 3 seconds. You're shooting raw so what's the problem?
If you don't like the results of the editor's white balance adjustment then manually fix the color's tint and temperature. It's really not hard. After a while you will get good, and fast, at it.
I'm always surprised when I read that someone expects images to be perfect, straight from the camera. All sorts of adjustments might be needed to get them right...correcting exposure, shadow, glare, contrast, color, etc. That's what the editor is for. Get good at it.
Lance.