Ok, so I started with a scanner. That didn't work well, and even made smudges on the glass appear to be on the coin. Then I tried pictures. That didn't go well and everything looked gold, even with setting a custom white balance, but using a white sheet. I'm ordering an 18% grey card, but in my wife's stuff I found what I thought was only a cutting board but is marked as "Photo Ready", lol. I don't think it's 18% grey, unless age just made the color shift, but it seems to have worked better. Question... How are people cropping coins to just the coin? I've got a copy of Photoshop around here somewhere, 7.0 I think, and will look for it and hoping it's something in there that's used. I like taking pictures of mountains, woods, lakes, etc. and coins are driving me nuts!!!! Anyway, I won't post the before pics that are already in the site, but here's round 3 on a couple. For the Nickel, not all but most of looks like scratches is on the mylar. Didn't want to remove it just for testing though. I also let the camera auto-focus and think I need to stop doing that yet. They don't look gold though!!!
Is this what you are hoping to achieve? I realize that some here like to use reflections in their image displays, but I feel this takes away from the coin itself, which should be the centerpiece. If you have photoshop, and no one can provide written instructions, I can walk you through the process. Remove coins from flips before shooting, and try to get more light upon the coins.
You might consider photoscape: a free program. It does circular cropping and I find it much faster ( as I don't use photoshop regularly) to process a number of photos. http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php
Well, yes, but putting both sides in one pic I figured I wait on and happy to crop it with one coin, lol. Looks like I better find the copy of Photoshop I have here somewhere. I work in IT but never got along with Photoshop, so I may have to enlist my wife some
Ok, I checked out Photoscape. Looks easy enough to start playing with until I get around to finding my full copy of Photoshop around here somewhere. The wife is also picking up some desk lamps on flex stands so I can get light more directly overhead without fighting with shop lights or getting them so close I burn my face. I've also got a grey card ordered, along with an 8x10 sheet. When setting the white balance with the 18% grey should the coin then be just placed directly on the same grey, or once setting the balance should white be used for the actual photo? Or, if the balance is somewhat accurate does the background color matter anymore?
When setting white balance you want to shoot a neutral white or gray card *only*, in the light you're going to illuminate the coin with. So the coin should not be in the shot you use as your CWB image, but it should be using the lamps you're going to use. Then after setting the CWB image in your camera, you can shoot whatever you want, as long as you continue to use the same lighting.
There are a couple "old" Photoscape threads here (don't have time to search for them at the moment) that can be quite helpful. Just FYI....
Ok, thanks again!!! I knew the coin shouldn't be there when setting the WB, but wasn't sure if once set if it's best to also use the same background for the photo itself. Since it doesn't sound like it matters just leaving it sounds easiest Thanks Rassi, at least "Photoscape" is an easy search term as well, compared to general questions Once I find it I'll still likely use Photoshop, since my wife paid for it I might as well "try" to get more use out of it, but Photoscape may better suit me in the end. I think that covers all my current questions though, now I have to wait for the grey card and some lights that are easier to deal with and continue experimentation.
I did a little looking for you and found the thread I've got saved on my end for Photoscape. Hope you find it useful. http://www.cointalk.com/threads/photo-editing-and-presentation-with-photoscape.175157/
I use a modified axial lighting setup. It's illustrated below. The Canon Rebel T3 is tethered and controlled by a desktop computer. Some examples are below. No processing, just cropping over a white layer using PhotoShop CS6. Good luck.
I never considered using, when needed, the glass top of a small display case; not only is the subject more protected, but this also allows for angle adjustments while lessening the chance of accidentally bumping and/or breaking the glass. Thanks for the tip and posting the photo.
You're welcome. It's a photo-shadow box, screwed down to the stage of a copy stand. The hinged glass does indeed allow for adjustments, depending on specimen. The live-tethering allows for live-preview while adjusting tilt, before shooting.
After the last post, I looked closely at the photo and realized it is not a display case after all, but I appreciate the correction nonetheless. This morning, I worked out a plan for something similar, but removable as it would only be for part-time use; the simplicity and convenience this general set up should offer will be well worth the effort. Thanks again.
