What a Difference a picture makes! Moster Rainbow Sac Dollar!

I just imagine a scenerio, Mike, where a manual white balance is set for an outdoor setting on a different day and time. The camera was brought back in and put away for awhile... then it was brought back out to shoot the coin. If the MWB is not reset.. as you know, the image would have an incorrect color cast. If that image was taken into Photoshop and "Auto (Levels, Color, or Contrast) was selected... that could effect the saturation levels.

 

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It has a white balance that I could capture a pic of an area it will set the white balance from the read if I want but I don't usually do that.

Did you guy's see the video I added?

http://s106.photobucket.com/albums/m264/TonedCoinTrader/?action=view&current=DSCN6871.flv

 

"It has a white balance that I could capture a pic of an area it will set the white balance from the read if I want but I don't usually do that."

Unless there's something I'm misunderstanding, TCT, that's what manual white balance is. I did not see your video. Have to be a member of that site to see it, unfortunately.

 

What I mean is that It is preset unless I manually set/capture it, and I don't usually do that.

Some times I hit auto correct color on the pic after it is already on the computer but I didn't do that with the sac pic.

Photbucket is a free site, but i just fixed the link so give it try it again.

Check 1st post for correct link...


Scott

 

Checked it out. Crazy toning...

 

Did you guy's see the video I added?

Have YOU seen the video? Its so blurry and out of focus, until you back off a little.

 

Sorry, it was take in a bit of a rush, I had to beat the mail man as it went out to NGC today

 

I agree, but TCT said that he did nothing "auto anything" to the coin -- and a color cast by white balance (at least in my experience) wouldn't cause the saturation we see in the photo. That said, I could see some saturation enhancement if he did auto color and/or contrast.

That said, I think I've found out why his photos look odd to my eye...see my post below for some thoughts on that topic if you are interested in the ramblings of a coin photography nerd.

 

I did -- thank you for posting it -- and I think I've figured out what I'm seeing (and frankly have been outspoken about here and elsewhere)....

I think the way you light your coins, along with a wee bit of overexposure make the coins colors look unnatural to my eye. Specifically, your photos (via the light technique you use, which I call the Anaconda method, which incidentally Lehigh also uses but not quite to the same extent) cause the coin to "flash" and overexpose the photo (or said another way, move the exposure to the right on the histogram) relative to the way the coin looks in-hand and not held at that precise angle that the coin reflects the light directly back to your eye.

It is the combination of the exposure and the lighting that have led me down the saturation path, when in fact the saturation that I'm seeing may be an unintended (albeit beneficial ) consequence of the technique you are using in your lighting and capture.

All that said -- and this is a point I will not budge on -- I still think your photos paint the coin in an overly optimistic way. When the coin isn't held "just right" those colors don't look like that, and that's more an comment on you just choosing the technique that paints the coin in the best light (which I can understand completely given your goal on most of your photos is to maximize sales prices).

Now if you were to say to me, "Mike, how would YOU do it?"

I would include a 2nd photograph not "flashing" the coin to give the prospective bidder a good feeling about how the coin looks at all those other angles. I think your customers (and detractors ) would value the truthfulness, and the end result is more satisfied and repeat customers in the long run.

Respectfully submitted....Mike

 

You think My pic's look "Juiced" or "Over saturated"? Look at these two pics of the coin I just got in today's mail;

Sellers pic re cropped by me;



My pic's

 

You won't get any disagreement from me -- those seller's photos are much, much worse.

And just so we're clear, after the realization above I don't think so much any more that your photos are oversaturated as much as they just don't look natural to my eye.