Dimefreak; Thanks for the tip, of course its overcast today here in NJ. I dont want to go off thred but the whole lighting thing has me baffeled. Chris can do it with ease, I want perfect pictures NOW. lol Steve
I just took these photos an hour ago using nothing more than 3 - 60 watt tungsten bulbs. The color is true.
True. But in general that is typical for "O" Mint Morgans. Some years are better than others, but I'm not savvy enough to know which years.
I like Morgans because they remind me of the Old West, but Peace Dollars are my favorite out of the Dollar series. In three weeks I am going going down to my moms (she will be recuping from surgery) and she is going to let me borrow her digital camera for my vacation. So I am going to practice using the camera by taking pics of my coins. If they come out good I will post them here.
I like them. To be able to hold that history in your hand and it have 90% silver makes it a great coin, IMO. Drool.
Steve, Here is my tip. As mentioned, use two gooseneck desk lamps with your favorite bulb. I use fluorescent. Position them at 10 & 2 and use a coin to prop the bottom edge of the slab up so that it is tilted into the light source. Then position the lights so that they are as close as possible to the surface of the coin without overlapping the coin. If done right, it should look like this. Make sure your white balance is set to the correct light source, set your delay timer to reduce vibration and snap your photo. A little photoshop to crop and size and your finished product looks like this. And don't get discouraged, nobody's photos were good in the beginning. It takes practice, a lot of practice.
Agreed. I've been working at it for years and I'm still not satisfied. But then I tend to be my own worst critic (okay, maybe my wife is ).
I use a slightly different approach from Lehigh. The light source is still placed at 10 & 2 o'clock, but at an angle, 30-45 degrees. This allows the light to bounce away from the lens when the camera is positioned directly over the slab so you don't get the glare. This is useful if you are trying to get full photos of the slab. Chris