Having trouble taking pictures

I was going to post some pictures of some Morgan Dollars I have and they keep turning out brown looking or too bright. The Morgans are in Kointainz holders. I am using Macro mode and have a great camera with a 15X actual zoom not digital zoom but actual. Can someone give me some tips? I have taken pictures of coins and small articles before with no problem. Is it the holders giving me the problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated? Ice

 

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Check your white balance.

 

If your camera has a macro mode (sometimes signified by a "flower"), use it.

Also, you will get better results (particularly if you use a camera that only autofocuses) if you remove the coin (careful!) from the kontain.

 

Hi Ice. Will the camera do a custom white balance? That's the best but if not there is probably a setting for the type of lighting being used. Tell us more about the setup you are using.

 

p.s. Hobo is 100% correct, BTW.

 

#1 Check settings for illumination, Daylight, incandescent, fluorescent,
And auto. What’s the minimum focus for your camera? Use natural light or reveal bulbs. Pic’s in the daylight are easier.

#2 Once you get the photo, buy photo shop, I’m going to.

 

What kind of camera? Even with a point and shoot, I don't know of any camera where you can just turn it to auto and start taking good close up pictures of anything.

Make sure you have plenty of light over the subject like a desk lamp or two, to begin with. Then you may need to adjust your shutter speed which will be represented as 1/15, 1/250, etc... This should lighten or darken the LCD display in real time. You can't use a flash. There's no need to anyway.

Go to your white balance (WB) and look for custom. You should have a set or ok button. Fill the viewfinder with a white sheet of paper under your lighting and hit set. This tells your camera what true white is under the lighting you are using. This usually has to be done in a manual mode. Normally not an option using auto.

Oh yeah, one more thing.... if you can remove it from a plastic holder for the pic, do it! Much easier not having the glare and reflection.

Hope that helps.

 

I agree. Everyone should be able to make it work using daylight. I prefer daylight because it's a lot of intensity. It's free and hard to duplicate. Although the color of the light changes quickly as the sun moves in the sky. Custom white balance will need to be reset often.
Natural light fills the area more than artificial lights which are more like spot lights and cause bad shadows.

I just ordered one of these Tensor lights for possibly trying to take pics under:
http://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/product/tensor-light.html

We'll see how it goes.

 

I have those energy efficient bulbs (florescent blame the wife). I'll try and take some pictures using some natural light bulbs I use at work for inspection. They are very high intensity lights so I may need move them back. My camera does have manual light balance and I use photo shop. Do I need to take the coins from the holder? Ice

 

Why don't you post a couple pics so we can see what you are doing?

 

Removing the coins from the kontain will help, yes...Mike

p.s. I also like the idea of posting examples -- we'll be much better equipped to provide you advice.

 

I've got a lot of energy efficient bulbs around. They're fine for seeing where you're going but absolutely horrible for taking pics under! That was probably part of your problem. I've tried it. The colors just bad and the intensity isn't there.

Try setting up a table by a window during the day. You don't need direct sunlight coming in and shining on it. The light from outside is plenty. I think you'll like it.

 

Here's a couple this coin has very good luster but the pic doesn't catch it. I did some of the things you guys mentioned. Ice

 

I am not to sure just what you are looking for, but cropping and adjusting the white helps a lot. I would still suggest you adjust your white balance on your camera.

 

If you are shooting in RAW and not jpeg you can adjust the WB/Temp in Photoshop. The lighting you are using will effect the color cast of the image for sure if you are recording at a different WB.

If you can adjust the WB in camera set it to they type of lighting you are using and then correct the hue some and you should be fine.


RickieB

 

A few more words about lighting - - -

It is best to have only one type of light on the coin you are photographing. You may be using an incandescent light to illuminate the coin and have your white balance set to that type of light but if you have other light sources in the room (e.g., fluorescent lights, sunlight, etc.) it can throw off the colors your camera sees.

If you are shooting inside using artificial lighting try to cover windows (during daylight hours) to block sunlight from coming into the room and turn off all other lights. It is fine to have those other sources of light while you are setting things up but you only want to have one type of light when you actually take the photo.

 

There is a ton of great information here. I am having a lot of trouble taking photos of my coins. I am hoping to buy a Nikon D60. I hope that this will do a better job.

 

Since you are purchasing a new Camera be sure it has a Macro Lens. You will also need good lighting with WB set accordly. Good luck with the pictures let us know how things turn out as I am sure this is a very good discussion for this forum.

A couple of years ago I purchased a D70s, Macro lens and a Photo Stand, it still takes quite abit of time with different type of coins getting good pictures. You will find the Shutter Speed and Aperature Setting will be influenced greatly with different types of coins. (Silver, Gold, Copper and Bronze)

 

Are you suggesting that the D60 is not the best choice?

 

I am not suggesting any one brand of camera.
Coinblogger,

You owe it to yourself to fully investigate the choices prior to buying. For most people it is easier to review choices than make money.

I am just suggesting the proper setting for the WB, Macro Lens capability and Buy Wisely.