Book Review – Numismatic Photography by Mark Goodman

Hobo · 08-17-2008, 05:11 AM

For many months I anxiously awaited the book Numismatic Photography by Mark Goodman. I had hoped to get this book before I took the Digital Coin Photography course at this year’s ANA Summer Seminar but, thanks to the release date being pushed back several times, that did not come to pass.

The book was released a few weeks ago and I finally got my hands on a copy about a week ago. I have read the book and offer my opinions below.

My first impression was the book is thinner than I expected. It has 153 pages but the paper seems to be thinner stock than other books. Several months ago the word was that the book would be spiral-bound but it was released soft-bound. I think I would have preferred it being spiral-bound.

As far as content, the book has a lot of good information for the beginner and intermediate photographer but is somewhat lacking for the advanced photographer. The chapters cover equipment (e.g., cameras, lenses, lighting, copy stands, etc.), imaging concepts (image size on the detector, camera and lighting angles, how lighting affects the image), how to obtain sharp photos, how to get the proper contrast on different coins, how to show a coin’s luster and color, the differences between shooting raw coins and coins in slabs and basic photo manipulation. Each chapter starts out with “ESSENTIALS” (basic info a photographer needs in this area) and moves on to “ADVANCED” (as the name implies, equipment or skills beyond the basics).

I’ll give a brief synopsis of each chapter:

Chapter 1 – The Camera

Basic information on point-and-shoot cameras and dSLR (digital single lens reflex) cameras.

Chapter 2 – Camera Features

Basic concepts of how a camera operates and how some camera features allow the photographer to better control the camera and improve his photos. In this chapter Goodman discusses white balance (adjusting the camera to the type of lighting being used), exposure compensation (how to overexpose or underexpose a shot), self-timer (letting the camera take the shot to reduce camera movement), shutter speed, metering (how to set your camera to meter the coin rather than the things around it), focus, filling the screen with the coin, ISO (the digital equivalent to film speed) and mirror lock (locking the mirror in the UP position on a dSLR to further reduce vibrations in the camera). He also discusses the pros and cons of shooting in RAW format.

Chapter 3 – Useful Gadgets

In this chapter he talks about tripods vs. copy stands, memory cards, AC adapter (good for long photo sessions where otherwise your camera battery may die), add-on macro lenses for point-and-shoot cameras and photo editing software (e.g., Photoshop). In the advanced portion he discusses remote shutter release controllers, diffusion filters (to diffuse light), polarizing filters (not useful for coin photography), extension tubes, bellows, teleconverters and the focusing stage (used to fine tune the camera’s height on a copy stand). He also discusses how a color checker card is useful to fine-tune your camera’s color calibration.

Chapter 4 – Lighting Types

Proper lighting (and camera settings for the type of lighting) is essential for excellent coin photography. This chapter discusses commonly used lighting types and their effects on the coin photo. Lighting types covered are incandescent, halogen, fluorescent and Ott lights.

Chapter 5 – Imaging Concepts

This chapter is especially useful because a photographer must understand these concepts in order to take excellent photos of coins (or any subject). Topics covered in the basic portion are using the whole detector (filling the screen with the coin), camera distance (distance between the coin and the lens), camera angle (you will normally want the camera shooting directly into the coin), lighting angle (Lighting angle is critical in getting the best photo possible of a coin. The author includes excellent shots of different set-ups and example photos.), lighting amount, number of lights, light position (very important to provide full coverage of the coin and to prevent glare), lighting form (the shape of the bulb has an effect on the amount of contrast) and mixing different types of lights (don’t do it). In the advanced portion he delves further into lighting angle (and how focal length of the lens affects the maximum lighting angle) and camera angle (a tilted coin may be out of focus at the edges). He touches on diffusion (diffusing light to reduce glare and to provide more even lighting) and slab preparation (scratches on a slab can show up in your photo).

Chapter 6 – Determinants of Sharpness

You want your coin photos to be as sharp as possible. In this chapter Goodman discusses how to avoid those things that cause fuzziness in photos, things like camera movement (hand-held movement, building vibrations) and how shutter speed can be used to your advantage. In the advanced portion he gives pointers on focusing and he discusses how aperture affects “depth of focus” (what I call depth of field) and touches again on ISO (and how a high ISO can create noise in your image).

Throughout the book Goodman says that a mid-range aperture will give the sharpest image and that photos shot with the lens fully stopped down (e.g., f/22) will not be as sharp. I have been a photographer for 30 years and I have always thought the higher the f-stop the sharper the photo. I am still investigating this but it appears he is correct. I learned something.

Chapter 7 – Contrast Management

Different types of coins have different contrast and different types of lighting impart different kinds of contrast on a coin. The trick is to tailor the correct lighting to the coin so the coin has proper contrast in the photo. This chapter gets you started in the right direction.

Chapter 8 – Color and Luster

In this chapter Goodman covers the basics of capturing the color of toned coins. Side-by-side photos are helpful in seeing how these tips work.

Chapter 9 – High Contrast Coins
Chapter 10 – Medium Contrast Coins
Chapter 11 – Low Contrast Coins

These chapters get into the nitty-gritty of getting the proper contrast in your coin photos. The proper balance of lighting should be matched to each coin. High-contrast coins (glossy MS silver, gold, copper and clad and brilliant Proofs) need to be shot with low-contrast lighting. Medium-contrast coins (lustrous AU gold and silver, most MS gold and silver, most RD and RB copper and glossy BN copper) usually should be shot with medium-contrast lighting. Low-contrast coins (dark copper and circulated coins with no luster) typically should be shot with high-contrast lighting. Numerous side-by-side examples are given in each chapter.

I think these chapters should have followed Chapter 7 – Contrast Management.

Chapter 12 – Raw Coins

Shooting raw coins is much easier than shooting slabbed coins. High angle lighting is possible with raw coins because there is no slab to create glare. An interesting example was used in this chapter – an error Lincoln cent that was multiple struck and became cupped. Goodman showed how he was able to properly light this unusual surface.

Chapter 13 – Toned Coins

In this chapter Goodman departs from his normal method of shooting coins straight-on and instructs us to slightly tilt the coin so the light bounces off the coin in a way that shows the color in the toning that is not visible when the coin is shot straight-on. He also demonstrates shooting a cameo Proof coin to show the frosted devices on a black background or to give a “reverse cameo” where the fields are white and reflective and the devices are slightly darker.

In this chapter Goodman touches on axial lighting (a great way to fully illuminate a coin without tilting it).

I’m not sure why this chapter did not follow Chapter 8 – Color and Luster.

Chapter 14 – Special Imaging Techniques

This entire chapter is advanced. This chapter discusses tilt-and-shift lenses, bellows and using a reversed lens (for increased magnification) as well as using ambient lighting and shooting a Proof Mercury dime with fully shiny surfaces (i.e., no frosted devices).

Chapter 15 – Imaging Slabs

This short chapter gives a couple of pointers on how to improve photos of slabs.

Chapter 16 – Image Interpretation

I’m not sure if Goodman meant to say “Manipulation” rather than “Interpretation”. Anyway, he covers the following topics: focus and glare (on coin slabs). Sharpening, contrast, color, white balance and JPEG compression (manipulations all done in your photo editing software program).

In his photo examples of how to optimize your focus Goodman is trying to explain how to use “depth of field” (or, as he says it, “depth of focus”) to your advantage when shooting a coin with high relief. In his example – the reverse of a Buffalo Nickel – he demonstrates how the field is out of focus when focused on the buffalo’s shoulder and the shoulder is out of focus when focused on the field. By focusing in between the field and shoulder the field and shoulder can both be in focus.

I disagree with one thing Goodman says here: “. . . the zone of sharp focus tends to be a bit wider on the lens side of the focus plane.” What he is saying is the depth of field (aka depth of focus) is wider in front of (on the camera side of) the focus point than behind it. I disagree with this statement. I was always taught and my experience has been that 1/3 of the depth of field is in front of the focus point and 2/3 of the depth of field is behind it. Perhaps this does not hold true for macro photography so I stand to be corrected.

Chapter 17 – Image Presentation

Here Goodman address image cropping, image size, backgrounds (what he calls “borders”), composite images (e.g., placing the obverse and reverse together in one image) and printing.

The two appendices are “General Coin Photography Rules” and “Trobleshooting” and are both handy references.

My general opinion of this book is it is a book that needed to be written. It is a good book that could have been better. I think it is an excellent book for the novice photographer and a good book for the intermediate photographer. I think the book is less useful for the advanced photographer but most photographers will learn a thing or two (or more) from this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve his/her coin photography skills. The book is well worth its price of $29.95 and it was worth the months of waiting for its release. I am sure I will be referring to this book often.

Goodman only touched on the high points in many of the sections. This may have been due to necessity (to limit the number of pages) or to avoid overwhelming novice photographers. I think almost every topic could be expanded, some greatly. I was somewhat disappointed that he did not delve further into some of the advanced areas.

Goodman included many excellent photos of coins throughout the book but many of them do not appear to be relevant; i.e., they seem to have been included for no particular reason. For instance, coin photos are included at the beginning of each chapter. Sometimes the photos are related to the chapter topic (e.g., the photos of a slabbed Lafayette Dollar to begin Chapter 15 – Imaging Slabs). Other times the photos of coins seem to have been included only so the beginning of every chapter has photos of coins (e.g., the photos of a Buffalo Nickel at the beginning of Chapter 2 – Camera Features).

I wish Goodman had provided more information with his photographs, information like ISO, number of lights, lighting angle, light position (e.g., 10:00 & 2:00), light height, light type and wattage, type and location of diffusion used (if any), etc. I think it would have been extremely beneficial to those of us who want to take the best photos possible for the author to include a critique of every one of his photos. This could be done in a separate chapter at the end of the book where he describes how he made each shot, the difficulties of getting the shot, the things that he likes and does not like about each photo and how he would improve each shot.

As is the case with any first printing, there are several typos and other errors that should be cleaned up for future printings.

Overall I give this book a 6 out of 10.

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