Home U.S. Coin Forum

First Photo in a long time

Finally got around to shooting some of the new coins I got recently. Of course I'm an ASE lover so that's first up under the lens.

John

image
Coin Photos

Never view my other linked pages. They aren't coin related.

Comments

  • jsfjsf Posts: 1,889
    back in the saddle again!
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Now THAT's what I'm talking about... very nice... Cheers, RickO
  • lcoopielcoopie Posts: 8,875 ✭✭✭✭✭
    asides from the well done photo,
    I like how the font color matches the coin color.
    LCoopie = Les
  • JapanJohnJapanJohn Posts: 2,030
    I do the font color in photoshop. You get an eyedropper tool and you can sample the font color. I just kind of click it around the coin until I find the shade that I like.

    Good eye.

    John
    Coin Photos

    Never view my other linked pages. They aren't coin related.
  • ConstantineConstantine Posts: 2,369 ✭✭✭
    Very smooth image and a great shot!
  • JapanJohnJapanJohn Posts: 2,030
    And if you're curios my set up is a Nikon D300 with a 60mm macro lens and SB-400 Flash on a tripod and control the camera from Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 software on my Mac. I use flash with all the coins and swivel the flash up a bit and hold a piece of printer paper over it to soften it up a bit and diffuse the light.

    In order to be true to the coin all I do is a little unsharp mask although I will confess to using the "Match Color" tool in Photoshop for the separate layers.

    Sometimes with a slabbed coin or because of the texture one side will photograph much darker or with a much different shade. In that case I just hold the coin up and decide which shot, obverse or reverse is the best representation and then use the match color tool on the layer that I don't like the color of.

    One thing I like about tethering the camera to the computer is that you can really take a lot of shots, see the results instantly and adjust quickly to where you don't have to fiddle with software not too much. I think I took about 10 photos of the obverse and 3 or 4 of the reverse until I got what I liked. The software changes had a pretty minimal effect on the overall coin and if you look closely over the word Silver you can see some minor milk spots. I try not to remove any defects in case the photo ever ends up as the photo I would use to advertise the coin. Not that I ever sell any.

    John
    Coin Photos

    Never view my other linked pages. They aren't coin related.
  • lcoopielcoopie Posts: 8,875 ✭✭✭✭✭
    so your flash is ON Camera?
    and you just hold a piece of paper over it?

    I must try that.
    LCoopie = Les
  • Glad to see you back. Your photos are always kickazz.
    OLDER IS BETTER
  • yeah, I've been using the sheet of printer paper method too ever since I started taking coin photos. I was standing there when I first started trying to take shots, thinking, "this is too hot of a light." The first thing I thought of for a diffuser was the paper sitting right there in a package by my computer desk. It's worked ever since. No cutting out milk jugs, no fancy-schmantzy tent setup, just a piece of paper. KISS. Not that my photos are anywhere near as nice as JJ's, or many others here, but for the hobbyist on a budget the paper diffuser just might serve the purpose. I might try the milk jug sometime. image

  • johnny9434johnny9434 Posts: 32,185 ✭✭✭✭✭
    wow, nice photo
  • great shots...good focus etc...but I would suggest using multiple light sources vs a flas..that way you can light the entire coin surface and you don't have dark patches image
  • Nice picture.

    Ron

    image

    Edited to add: I just noticed the coin color is the same color as the picture of Bender in the avatar. Is John secretly telling us to bite his shiny metal a$*?
    Collect for the love of the hobby, the beauty of the coins, and enjoy the ride.

Leave a Comment

BoldItalicStrikethroughOrdered listUnordered list
Emoji
Image
Align leftAlign centerAlign rightToggle HTML viewToggle full pageToggle lights
Drop image/file