Question regarding photography

Hello ladies and gentlemen,
I like to take photos for all my coins after receiving them rather than using auction pics.
(someday I want to take "original" photos of all my coins as I am only doing this for a few months).
Received my package today containing my Trajan denarii with Dacians, took some photos and in the photos the edge looks very strange. If I see this kind of pics in an auction, I would be tempted to skip the coin and suspect it's a cast.






I tried using different lightning and the results are similar.
I could swear that these are made from two joint parts
However, in hand, using magnifying glass, the coins show absolutely no trace of the "seam" - if this would be the correct term.



I think the coins are perfectly fine.
And if I remember correctly, a few months ago I had the same result when taking a photo of a perfectly genuine denarius.

Where am I going wrong?

 

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The coin looks OK to me. As for taking pics, I am hit and miss too. I find it very hard to get good pics of coins made of silver that have surfaces like yours. I own many that way and the coins always look worse than in-hand.

 

I am pretty sure the coins are genuine. They were bought from a reputable auction house and I never had or heard complains about them.
I am also very unskilled in detecting forgeries - but if I would see my pics on an auction, I would ignore the coins due to the edges.
My question would be why do the edges look like this only in pics

 

It's shadows that show up on images. I've had sveral coins purchased from very reputable dealers which when imaged look similar to your. In hand, no seam can be seen. Your coin looks perfectly normal to me (but I am no expert).

 

I think it's the light reflecting off the surface on which the coin rests.

 

I am not concerned at all for both coins (I would be if the "line" would be visible in hand - not the case).

I had the same idea so went on the balcony for fully natural light photos




Beats me, really.
The edge looks nothing like this in hand.

 

Raise the coin off the background. I use a disc of cork but you can use a bottle cap or similar. This makes the camera focus solely on the subject and the edges more defined.

 

Yes, raise the coin higher off the surface and you can also use a piece of white paper to reflect the light onto the edges at 6:00. It's trial and error but once you get it, the set up will work for most coins.

 

Many thanks, gentlemen, I was not aware of this trick.

 

Much better

 

Lightning is still imperfect, but this method is simple and extremely useful.
I realized that I saw many photos on CT made with similar methods but I always thought it was a Photoshop effect.

 

If you wrap the white paper under the coin up at 6:00 so that it's purpendicular to the surface, or just add another sheet of paper, you can reduce or eliminate the shadow on the bottom of the coin.

 

Agreed. Alternatively you can place a low level light source at coin level at 6:00. Lighting is something that always need playing with as all coins are different. An inch nearer or further away can make huge differences. This was not something I had even considered until very recently. The reading I am doing on it now is very eye opening

 

That's not white paper, that's my window sill
I kinda like the shadow, don't ask me why. But the things I learned from this thread are quite unexpected. Thanks again.

 

Why not try a black, non-reflective surface when you're taking pictures? That way you avoid reflections on the edge and pixel-bleed. I'm sure the unevenness on the edge will disappear.

 

Does this photo of your first OP coin look better? I used haze reduction in Photoshop and reduced the lighting.



For the second photo, I used just the haze reduction tool:

 

Try not shining a bright light directly on the coin but bounce light around the whole area or even the room so the light is soft rather than harsh. Continue to raise the coin above the surface. See if you like that better. I generally prefer coins lit softly rather than harshly. If outside, stay in the shade and not in direct sun.

 

@dougsmit - thanks. Photography is not my area, in fact I started to take it more seriously since I bought my first camera - a cheap, old Panasonic but it does its job.

@robinjojo thank you as well, nice enhancements. My problem was this


With that strange reflection (the coins do NOT have that "seam") they both looked like very bad fakes and I was curious why, being convinced they are genuine.

 

What @dougsmit says.
I take my pics in natural light on a cloudy/rainy/snowy day to avoid direct sunlight.
And I've built a set that prevents me from doing again the settings everytime I use it



Q

 

That's quite interesting ... I might improvise something similar but I have 2 left hands.
After buying the camera I "built" something similar - 2 big water glasses upside down. It did the trick but after a few tries the camera fell and almost broke.
It's a cheap, outdated model - Panasonic Lumix DMC LZ-7 but I am quite impressed of what it can do - compared to my phone it's really fantastic. And I try to take care of my things.