This Little Dime of Mine...

I'm gonna make it shine...make it shine...make it shine...make it shine!
Well I took more pics of this little dime...for some reason this is the hardest coin I've ever had to photograph! Don't know if it is the size, color, luster, holder, or what! So I'm asking for some opinions on the shots I took. The before pictures, IMO just make the coin appear darker than it really is, while the after pictures, show the luster and color perfectly.
Which shot of the coin do you think is best though?



Before:




After:

 

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Reverse is a little distorted in #2. Protector smears are more visible in pic #2. If there wasn't any possibility of taking another pic I'd go with #1. Just my dumb opinion though.

 

Although I like my second shot better, I will have to agree... What just throws me off is that both sides are completely different colors, when exposed to light, one is blast white, and the other is a purpley-white. Also in the second picture, you can better see that the coin is FB, as opposed to the first picture.
For some reason, this is the only coin that I have continuous problems with, it drives me insane!

 

Regardless of the pics, shes a beauty. Nice acquire :smile.

 

Thanks, I got it a while back, for a great price

 

I have a proof 1898 Liberty nickel that must be Amish....because it refuses to be photographed. I have tried, and I have yet to capture it. It always comes out terrible.

Nightowl

 

I hear proofs are the hardest to photograph... Be sure you are doing the basic stuff, two lighting sources, white balance set right, macro on, and set the EV Shift accordingly.

 

I have not idea what "before" and "after" mean, but can you split the difference? I just took you first (before) pic and lightened it a bit. How about this?

Oh, BTW, your white balance is off a little.

 

Before-My first attempt at picture
After-My second attempt at picture
I'm referring to before, NOT having two halogen lamps, and then after, when I'm using two halogen lamps.
The picture that you edited is still inaccurate, as the luster and color of the coin are perfect in the second picture. The darker pictures, I used one light, with another lamp (which is really useless), and my white balance was off.

In the first picture, yes.

 

I've posted my smaller sized photos of this coin, but I don't think I've ever posted the super-sized versions. So, here they are and I apologize for the size of the photos in advance!

<<<sorry, i guess they were too big for photobucket, will try to figure out a way to post>>>

 

Only problem with those pictures is that, in hand the coin doesn't have that gold tone to it... The reverse is about as white as you can get! (Whiter than me!)
The obverse has the white, but some shades of light purple throughout it, which is hard to photograph.
Illini, if that is what the coin looked like, 100%, in hand, I would totally use your pictures!

 

Had to crop down the photos, here's another attempt:

 

Like I said before, it displays the luster and details well, but the color is wrong.
All the photos are of the same coin, and yet all very diverse. One is grey the other is gold, the other is purple and white. LOL!

 

That is a sweeeeet dime T$.

I like the first pic myself. I think it shows it off better.

bob

 

I took your pic and reduced the yellow and some of the green without going totally black and white.

What do you think?

 

That is prefect!

 

T$: The before shots were okay but the focus and contrast seemed a bit off. I'm not sure since I'm not seeing the coin in hand. In the after shots the focus is better, but it's still better on the obverse than the reverse, from what I can see.

Lighting, focus and the slab seems to have combined for a nasty concoction of problems for you on this coin. I'm sure the small size coin adds to this as well. I usually have to shoot dimes and cents or the tiny gold $1 coins through a loupe.

The light seems to be contributing too much 'temperature' to the pics and distorting color. I might suggest another type of bulb in your lamps, even a circular fluorescent with balanced natural light / true color.

With the focus right on in some shots but off in others, perhaps the focus is locked onto scratches on the holder just a few millimeters above the coin. There seems to be a bit of tilt to the coin or camera surface, that's a bit perceptible. I know it helps defray the reflection from the slab but may be giving you trouble with focus over the coins surface.

I think you're doing great compared to older photos of coins I've seen you post with dark areas and hot spots. I'd work on getting your camera's white balance set right but play around with different type of illumination as well. :thumb:

I also wanted to ask what is that mark on the rim, obverse around 2 o'clock position?

 

This looks okay if it's what the coin looks like in hand but I'm concerned with photo manipulation to some degree. This seems to have drawn out some pixelation noise, the red spots around e pluribus unum and on the rim of the coin. IF that's not what it is, then is that color reflection? like color reflected off your shirt or skin tone for instance? That is still a problem in accuracy if so worth eliminating by adjusting the setting of the room around you to eliminate these things.

 

Thanks Krispy,
Thing is, I have no problems with photographing any other coin...
I've been experimenting with this all afternoon...If there was a way to throw my before and after pics together, I think it would look good. I will try setting the EV Shift down just a notch, to reduce light taken in by the camera, and place a white piece of paper under the slab to check the white balance.

 

I use Gimpshop, a free knockoff of Photoshop.

I adjusted the hue/saturation, selecting yellow and reducing it and then selecting green and doing the same thing.