[SUP]After comparing the photos of my coins, and viewing them in real life, I cannot seem to get the color right. I am using auto white balance on my Nikon D60 SLR, but everything seems darker than in real life. [/SUP]
A picture is worth 10,000 "auto modes". I'm no expert, but it sounds like your focus is center-weighted and it's picking up the surface of the coin. Try switching from auto to program mode and adjust the white balance manually while focusing on a sheet of white paper. Chris
There's more to it than just white balance. What kind of light bulbs are you using to take pics ? And when you take your coin pics, the only light you want present in the room is the light you are using for the pics. There can be no other light source in the room, including daylight.
Regarding the images being dark, it's the very same issue we were telling you about with your old camera. If you're using "auto" exposure modes, you need to adjust your exposure compensation to get the light level you're looking for. See the old threads, see the manual. Regarding the colors, that's a white balance issue, your white balance should be set to correspond with your lighting (ie, type of light bulbs), or else you're going to need to adjust it with Photoshop or something like that. Dave
Don't use auto white balance. Use the custom white balance, and calibrate it to either an 18% graycard or to a completely white sheet of paper. When you do this calibration you want to do it with exactly the same lights you will be using for your coin images. Regarding exposure, you should be using either center weighted or spot metering, so the darkness of the coin is what is correctly exposed, not the peripheral parts of the image (e.g., you don't care if your slab or table are exposed correctly).
You have a powerful tool in your D60, it's time to start using it! Start by setting a custom white balance. Under the lights you will be shooting your coins, take a picture of a known pure white object. A piece of white paper will work in a pinch. Make sure that the paper is the only thing visible in your shot. Use this picture to set your white balance. I don't have any experience with Nikon SLR's (I shoot Canon), but there should be somewhere in the configuration that allows you to select this picture as the source for your white balance information. Refer to your manual for details on custom white balance. I recommend using a manual shooting mode, especially for static objects, but if you insist on using one of the auto modes you will need to dial in exposure compensation. The shiny surface of the coin is throwing off the internal meter, underexposing your shots. Start with +1 exposure compensation (refer to your manual, I don't know how to set it on Nikon), and work from there. As for the setup I use myself, I refer you to this thread.
When you use the suggestions above, try to find a piece of white paper that has not had uv enhancing chemical added to make the paper appear brighter. If I shine a uv light on computer printer paper. it lights up in the dark like a beacon. Try to find a photo 18% gray card for best accuracy. Also, our eyes may vary and see color and brightness differently in our brains when we just "see it" and when we see it backlighted on the computer screen or on a printed photograph. Jim
As others have said. Use manual white balance. I have also mentioned about 40 times to you, that you should use photoscape or some other post editing software to do an auto-level, or manually adjust the brightness/contrast.
White. No matter how I adjust my WB, it comes out blue. I'm using daylight CFLs which have a light blue tinge to them. I'm going to try using blue plastic, so the blue is absorbed.
Try and see what color appears for a copper coin. When I use a white sheet of paper in the background for a silver coin, it usually turns out blue. However, for copper coins it usually turns a grayish color.
How many light sources are on in the picture area? Day light counts. If you have day light from windows and your photo light or an overhead light and your photo light it will never be right. Every camera can only adjust to one type of lighting at a given time. Two different types of lighting mixed together screws up the white balance and you basically can't do it. I take photos in the basement, in the dark, under my photography lights ONLY for this reason. If you are using a single light source, then as others have said, you should be able to set custom white balance on a pure white sheet of paper. Make sure to adjust the image on the screen so it's not too dark and not too bright when you set it. Once it's set, you'll have to stay in manual mode and it's only going to work under that lighting set up. If you move somewhere else, you'll have to re-set the white balance. The auto WB is not that great on most cameras FWIW. If you do all this, the color has to turn out "right". I just wanted to add that as sjlund says below, setting the custom WB to white, will tell the camera what white is under ANY lighting. The bulbs shouldn't matter. When I still had my saltwater tank, I could set the WB under pure blue 560nm actinics and still have whites come out pure white in the photos. If you've ever seen how pure blue actinics are by themselves, you will know that is about the most extreme wave length scenario aside from red daylight to shoot under.
As I stated above, use custom white balance. That does not mean choosing "incandescent", "florescent", "sunset", or any of the other pre-programmed modes. Custom white balance will white balance your camera to your own individual light source. If you don't know how to do it, check your manual or google it.
How to take color-correct photos in 4 easy steps: Step 1: Buy an 18% grey card. Like this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/101853-REG/Delta_22030_Gray_Card_8x10_1.html Step 2: Set up your picture taking setup, lights, coins, etc., in an otherwise dark room Let the lights warm up for a while. Step 3: Substitute the grey card for the coin, and set a custom white balance (see camera manual PRE white balance setting). Step 4: Photo your coins. Viola. Perfect color every time. Extra credit assignment: Color correct your monitor and implement a RAW workflow -- a significantly more complex and costly undertaking.