Here is a penny I just bought and I've been trying to photograph. When attempting to capture a coins luster or tone I just can't. Coins seen to come out flat and dirty. The color is pastel instead of vibrant. The only way to get the luster is having the light reflect right off the coins center. Which do you like better? What can I do different? My current set up is just a light or two angled and my phone above the coin.
I usually just use one light angled in the most desired position to get the best result. I have heard of people with two lights positioned at the sides at a 45 degree angle and then the camera directly above the coin.
Colorful coins present you with having to choose between color and luster. If you want color, diffuse the light more. If you want luster, harden the light. If you want something in between, then you'll have to find something in between that gives you an optimal looking photo. Since the appearance of color varies a lot from coin to coin, there's not a single way to light all toned coins.
Can you explain the statement I bolded in your post? I'm not sure what you mean. I'm a newb when it comes to coin photography. I do have the book that cpm9ball posted.
I do like this explanation because it tells me what I feel like I already knew lol I'm thinking without putting enormous amounts of money into a set-up I will have to do two sets of pictures. maybe a more flat picture saturated so you can see color and then a follow-up with luster. I appreciate the tip!
I believe he means disperse the light or condense the light, but I'd wait for him to respond at well.
It seems like you are trying to light your coin with a single-source high-intensity bluish light (like an LED). Try using a softer white light with three sources (2:00, 6:00, and 10:00). I do that using only the 2:00 and 6:00 light sources and get results like this (through a slab even, using an iPad):
I've mixed light sources and I think I might have to play with a different set up. This is actually two white LEDs but my previous stuff was a blue ish led you're spot on there! Ha
By "hardening" the light, I mean the opposite of diffusing. A really bright, point source of light would be a hard light. To harden a light, you can remove diffusion or move the light further away from the subject (assuming no other light sources in the room).
Apparently the trick is to put the coin inside the lens. Otherwise, someone forgot to make the die a mirror image. I didn't realize taking a picture of a toned coin was trickier (not that I spent a lot of time trying to get the absolute best out of a coin). Kinda want to buy a toned coin just to see what changes I would need to make with my current setup.
