Angled photography. Only way I can get color to show...
jesbroken
Posts: 11,164 ✭✭✭✭✭
On this 1913 S T1 Buffalo Nickel. It is so nice inhand but just doesn't show straight on. I am a poor photographer at best and have always been unable to capture color very well. So I just use my cell at an angle and at least get some color to present itself.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
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I can never get color to show without playing with the settings. That looks like a nice Buff and an "S" to boot.
Phil Arnold, before his tenure as the PCGS TrueView original guru, pioneered an angled photography technique. There were threads about it on the forum. I wonder if the pics are still active in those ancient threads, should one be able to find them…
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
You could try angling the light source.
- Bob -
MPL's - Lincolns of Color
Central Valley Roosevelts
Bob, I did try that and to a small extent color showed, which shouldn't be any difference, but for me it did.
LMV, I'll do a search.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
I angle the lights myself, but some use that technique with a piece of glass at an angle. It has a fancy name
Mr_Spud
Mr_Spud
I built a similar device once utilizing a 2way mirror and lighting. Still have it somewhere. I was never able to improve the photo with it.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Jim, try using a plastic slide from a Dansco or from one of the albums I've sent you. The plastic is reflective enough to bounce the light and thin enough to minimize distortions to the camera.
Custom album maker and numismatic photographer.
Need a personalized album made? Design it on the website below and I'll build it for you.
https://www.donahuenumismatics.com/.
What does the coin look like with conventional images?
Ideally, we want the light to bounce perpendicularly off the coin and back up into the camera lens. But this is impossible since the camera is in the way. There's the axial photography method which I have tried and failed. I use a method that creates a V angling positioning of the camera and lighting. The coin lies flat at the bottom point of the V. It makes the coin take on a bit of an oval shape. There's likely a way/use of a photo editor to correct the oval shape to a more circular shape but haven't thought it's necessary. But it is necessary that the light bounces off the coin and goes directly back up into the camera lens. That light is carrying the colors of your coin!
Leo
The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!
My Jefferson Nickel Collection
My daughter-in-law uses axial lighting for her coin photos.
I believe she gets some very good results.
I need to learn her methods!
https://www.instagram.com/coinpeeps/
I think @mgoodm3 ’s Numismatic Photography book also covers the topic, if memory serves. I no longer have the copy he so kindly gave me. Passed it on to someone else who was interested.
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
I got his copy in 2009 at the Baltimore show. Met him and Ron Pope who became a very special friend.
Here are a couple of straight on photos in same fixed lighting.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
just ask some of the members here who always post the most incredible photos.
I call them angle toners and use a fluorescent bulb that is on an angle, and take photos at an angle. I do not doctor any photo with settings or filter. It can be interesting to try to catch colors. I use the whitest light possible.
https://www.autismforums.com/media/albums/acrylic-colors-by-rocco.291/
I have recently tried axial photography (again, after not liking to do it the first time around). My new innovation, which makes it much more flexible and friendly, is to be able to raise/lower the pane of glass by suspending it (as opposed to fixing it on a stand). The bottom edge of the glass is resting against a little plastic filter pane just so it doesn't slide left away from the light source.
My hobby website Groovycoins.com, new and improved!
Axial can be a pain, especially for scratched slabs. Raw coins are considerably easier.
The OP coin does not look like an example that should be imaged axially. Direct lighting should be able to bring out the color if done right.
Coin Photography
@FlyingAl took some amazing angled pics of my HR Saint. Maybe he can post a couple!
Best I can do is this proof 1921 Peace
@Floridafacelifter - these were my first experiments with the angled idea!
I've since progressed, but these were the foundation for what I do now.
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Coin Photography