Coin Photography - Black vs. White Background

When it come to photographing coins, I'm just a tramp on that street.
I now use my cell phone almost 100% of the time.
If I'm happy with the image that's all that counts.
Yesterday I was going thru my box og "OGP". When I opened the 2011 25th Anniversary box it still had 3 coins in it.
The UNC., UNC. w "W" mint mark and the Proof w/ "W" mint mark.
I use the white back ground so I tell the difference between the old and new photos.
I used my camera back in 2011 when I purchased the set.

 

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I prefer the lower images. For me, it conceals all the surface issues made so prominent by the black field. I'm sure in hand, those coins don't look anywhere near as marked up as they appear with this super high contrast black field lighting. I brings out every flaw, no matter how small. I also find the upper coins look more like an illustration of the coins, whereas I really like the character of the coin with the toning in the lower images. Have you tried to only partially light the coin with the paper? Leave a 1/4 of the image uncovered for a black field effect and move the paper closer or father to adjust the fade band into the toned area? or you could do the same thing in photoshop.

 

I didn't write the rules here but I do agree with them. Why should one person not be held to the same standards that are ask of others? Do we really want business ads posted on the coin forums? Easy fix, put the business stuff in the sig line and stay clear of breaking the rules.

3 – Self Promotion – self promotion is not permitted on Coin Talk. * See exceptions

A - Offers to buy, sell or trade by individuals and/or dealers are not permitted in any way, shape or form in threads and/or posts. If you wish to make such an offer, contact the other party by Private Message or email.

B - Posting links to personal sales sites is not permitted. A personal sales site may be defined as any web site of a business that you own, or the site of a business that you work for, or are affiliated with in any way, that offers items for sale.

C – Posting contact information such as phone numbers, addresses and email addresses in threads and/or posts for the purpose of making sales or advertising is not permitted.

NOTE - posting your email or contact info on the forum is an open invitation to every SPAM bot on the planet to harvest your info and bury you in unwanted emails and phone calls. Please do not post that info, for your own good.

D – SPAM is not permitted !!

Exceptions –

A - If you are a coin dealer or you occasionally sell coins, or you own a web site or business that sells coins, you may have a link to your web site or contact information in your Personal Profile.

B – Coin Talk wishes to provide a way for our members to be able to buy, sell & trade with each other. For this reason Coin Talk provides the Advertising section for our members. Each Coin Talk member, once he or she has accumulated 10 posts or more in the various forum sections, is permitted to make 1 post every 7 days in each of the individual parts of the Advertising section. ( In other words, if you make a post in the Auction Forum on Tuesday, you may not make another post in the Auction Forum until the following Tuesday. The same goes for - For Sale, Want Lists, Trades, Auction Listings, and Open.)

 

I prefer a white background so I can see the edges of the flan (they're not circular in ancients), which tend to blur into the background if it's black. Here's a photo of a silver denarius of Julia Domna I took this morning with my android phone:

 

You are also not a moderator, so rather than acting like an online "Karen", why not just report the post and let the mods take care of it?

IMO, he isn't breaking the rules, other than including his website address on some of the photos. Putting your logo, or professional moniker on a photo is perfectly acceptable IMO.

 

I totally agree with this. I don't see anything wrong with the posts and I found them very helpful...that being said, I'm not a mod either.

Paul, you are great at taking pics of toned coins. What do you think of my 1961 purple quarter and the German commemorative. Any tips?

 

You can see the purple toning but the overall look is that you need more light on the surfaces.

I think the top photo is excellent and shows the actual appearance of the coin. While the bottom photo captures the peripheral toning, it also creates an orangish cast across the untoned surfaces and I'm absolutely sure that isn't what they look like in hand.

I have given my thoughts about your photos of the coins above. Here is my thoughts about what is going on in the rest of this thread. We have two very senior members who I respect a great deal who are going out of there way to give a new member a hard time. I don't know if they have a past history with him, or they are just so torqued by his pseudo spamming of his photography business that they seem intent on running him outta here.

Well I click on threads on Cointalk everyday, and everyday I am bombarded with new members posting photos of literal pocket change asking if their crap coin is rare or worth money. And everyday, I ignore their inane posts and look for someplace where I can contribute constructively. Enter @Denis Richard who has displayed some of the best numismatic photography skills I have ever seen, and this is who they decide to give a hard time. When a new member displays skills like he has, we should go out of our way to make him feel welcome, not get hung up on the minutia of Cointalk Forum Rules.

Rant over!

 

I agree with everything you said here. I couldn't help but get that orangish effect to make the toning come out. Perhaps that is something I could tweak out in post-processing.

I don't really understand it either. I applaud what @Denis Richard has done here. His skills are amazing and he has been kind enough to show us some of his secrets.

I can tell you this...the "advertising" rules around here can be a little hit and miss. Personally, I don't see a problem with what is happening. He posted photos that directly answered questions put in this thread...those photos happened to be branded...who cares.

That being said, a number of years ago I got a PM telling me I needed to change my avatar from a moderator...because it was "advertising." My avatar at the time was the logo from my business with my business name on it. I asked how I was gaining any kind of advertisement for my dental office on an international online coin forum (I was simply proud of what I had built and liked the logo we had created)...and I was told "rules is rules" and to take it down so I did. I was told that avatar's (and custom titles) could not be used for "advertising."

So...just to be a turd...I PM'd the moderator back and pointed out another member. This particular member was a known coin dealer and very active/nice member of the forum. I pointed out that individual's username was the name of their Coin Shop, their avatar was their Shop's logo and their custom title pointed out that they sold coins. I said that if my avatar alone for my dental office was a violation of the advertising policy than surely this person's username/avatar/custom title was too. I was told it was not a violation because this person was "known by that name." When I continued to question this the moderator told me he didn't know how to make it clearer and apparently I didn't want to understand.

So...I really don't know what the rules really are. I suggest that we all just play nice and if you have a problem something hit the report button. It's not worth making a big stink on the open forum.

 

Bingo. That's the problem. The rule is there for a reason. It's not just some of his images, it's most of them. He is using this site to advertise. Look at his other post.
We have never had a problem and I'm not looking for a fight but don't insult me again.
I just want the guy to go by the same rules the rest of us are ask to go by.
Can I advertise my business in my images? That would be NO I can't. Do you see others including yourself advertising their business with their images? That would be NO as well.
Why should one new member be allowed to disregard the rules that are in place?
As I said before, he should put his business information in his sig line like everyone else and stop breaking the rules in place.

 

Then report the thread and stop complaining. If you report it a mod will look at it and they will make their decision.

 

It is a very minor infraction that could be taken care of with a PM or reported to a moderator. You and Jason are actively trying to run the guy out of here. Nothing I said in any of my previous posts was at all insulting. Again, I want knowledgeable new members who show up here to stick around, or would you prefer this place end up like the NGC forum?

 

I'm sure this thread is already flagged for the mods but not by me.

 

Why not...complaining about it publicly does nothing. I don't understand why you complain about it yet choose not to report it. All that does is stir the pot. I know for a fact when a thread is reported that every mod gets a message. One of them will look at it and decide to take actions. So, if it's been reported and not action taken...then I would assume it's fine.

If you want my take/experience with this specific rule it's enforcement...see post #48.

 

Not at all. It has nothing to do with that.

 

I understand your thoughts. There are times I would rather complain in the open and not report something. It gives the new member the chance to fix it before it ever gets reported.
It's an easy fix. Put the business links in the sig line like everyone else.

 

Well, I guess we will have to agree to disagree then. I don't think it's the job of members to police the forums. If this is out of line and is reported, the member gets a private message letting them know of the issue...not a public calling out.

 

Well, I had no idea a bit of text on an image would be so controversial. I believe in following the rules too, though I really don’t think my photos are the kind of problem the rule was intended to prevent. Regardless, please report any concerns to the site mods and let them do their thing.

Thank you to those with kind words about my photography during this exchange, it is much appreciated. I look forward to learning more about coin photography with everyone here.

I’d like to get back to discussing coin backgrounds…

 

And it's sure not your job to police me or my opinion. It's a two way street.

 

Those of us who live in glass houses...

 

I'll have the record note - I have not reported Denis for his backgrounds, or his logos, or links to his website. I recognize that they may appear to be advertising, but I genuinely think he's just presenting templates that he normally uses. I've seen him use the same templates on other forums. I don't want to get him in trouble for anything.

I just personally don't like his style of editing.