Need help with how i got this photo

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by MintyFresh, Feb 16, 2023.

  1. MintyFresh

    MintyFresh Long Time Member

    I wasn't sure where to post a question about Numismatic Photography. so please forgive me in advance for asking my question here.

    Can any tell me what I did wrong here? The photograph came out with a lavender color, which I do not understand. I photographed the coin against a flat-white background. I am using a Canon D60 with a 62mm macr IMG_7542.jpg IMG_7543.jpg o lens. I used a bright white LED lamp and a LED ring light. I am a novice in ISO and f-stop settings. I am thinking that this may be where I missed it.

    Any advice or suggestion on how would achieve a more natural likeness would be helpful.


    Thank you in advance
     
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  3. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    Check your 'white balance'........also, what color are the walls in the room that you photoged the coin? What kind of lighting are you using?
     
  4. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    Oops, saw the light source......white balance. Set for tungstun or daylight?
     
    MintyFresh likes this.
  5. derkerlegand

    derkerlegand Well-Known Member

    Just run it through Photoshop autolevels.
    zzzzzpic.jpg
     
  6. robec

    robec Junior Member

    Even though both lights are LED’s they could have different color temperatures. If they are different they will fight with one another giving you unpredictable results. You never want to mix light sources.
     
    MintyFresh likes this.
  7. masterswimmer

    masterswimmer A Caretaker, can't take it with me

    Experiment with different background colors. See how the results look with black or gray backgrounds.
     
    MintyFresh and Spark1951 like this.
  8. SensibleSal66

    SensibleSal66 U.S Casual Collector / Error Collector

    I like the editing program called LunaPic!:) I'm just thinking you could adjust the lighting there??
     
    MintyFresh likes this.
  9. Pickin and Grinin

    Pickin and Grinin Well-Known Member

    Isn't a D60 a Nikon?
    I use a t3i.
    First is to set your ISO at the lowest setting above auto. Mine is 100.
    Then my usual settings are 1/30 speed and and Fstop of 9.
    Are you using a copy stand or tripod. Is it set to link to your computer?
     
    mlov43 likes this.
  10. MintyFresh

    MintyFresh Long Time Member


    My bad, typo, it is an EOS 60D. I just got it. Thanks to the great comments, I remembered downloading the manual (374 pages!). It's been 35 years since I had a good (35mm) SLR camera (by coincidence, a Nikon D60). So much to relearn :)

    I am using a tripod, but want a copy stand. I hope to build a lightbox to control the environment.
     
  11. MintyFresh

    MintyFresh Long Time Member

    Ill check out the app. Thanks
     
    Pickin and Grinin likes this.
  12. Pickin and Grinin

    Pickin and Grinin Well-Known Member

    My camera came with a CD to upload to my computer. It is much easier to focus and change the settings.
    I made my first copy stand. Not anything flashy but it got me by until I found a Testrite copy stand at an estate sale.
    upload_2023-2-18_12-26-59.jpeg
     
  13. Vess1

    Vess1 CT SP VIP Supporter

    As others have stated this is where white balance comes into play. Most cameras have an auto or you can set it yourself by pushing the button and snapping a pic of a blank white piece of paper filling the view finder to set. I have a copy stand with four bulbs in the corners. I got tired of the regular bulbs which put out a lot of light back in my face when they were all on. So I got some other track light type LED bulbs that mainly only throw light out of the bottom at the subject. My first try was this:

    2021 ASE TY 2 combined.jpg

    I was always fighting the blue hue with these so I got the same type with a warmer color temp. Now every picture turns out in this color without having to do anything:

    IMG_0026.JPG

    Your combination of LED lamps is not what you want. It's very unlikely they're exactly color matched. If you set the white balance for one, it won't be compensating for the other one and vice versa. For best results you need one specific type of light in a dark room. You don't want sunlight or other light sources to encroach on the subject matter or it will throw the whiteness off. You can use multiple lights, they just need to be the same or you're going to fight one or the other.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2023
    green18 likes this.
  14. kanga

    kanga 65 Year Collector

    I use a non-reflective, dark gray background.
    As much as possible I want the light that the camera collects to be JUST from the coin.
     
  15. Vess1

    Vess1 CT SP VIP Supporter

    I'm using my copy stand right now. I just looked at the bulbs and they say 5000k daylight for the color in the Peace dollar pic above. They're LED spotlight bulbs.
     
  16. Clawcoins

    Clawcoins Damaging Coins Daily

  17. messydesk

    messydesk Well-Known Member

    Yes, RTFM regarding White Balance. Also, don't build a light box. I've never used one for any of my pictures. I tried out someone else's once and it is much harder to get good pictures with one because the light is so flat. Just use a couple lamps that you can easily move around. Control the other light in the room by turning it off or by pulling shades. Ring lights are of limited use and are inflexible. If you have good, posable lamps, I can show you how to make a ring light out of a piece of paper.
     
    Eric Babula likes this.
  18. Denis Richard

    Denis Richard Well-Known Member

    For the best results, use a light source made to produce a specific colour of light, for example, a flash or strobe at 5500K, (with a modeling light, of course.) With an adequately powered flash, every other normal light in the room becomes irrelevant, and will not affect your colour balance or your ability to see your way around the room while you're photographing your coins.
     
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