Coin Photography - Black vs. White Background

Can someone help me understand when it is best to use a black verses a white background when photographing coins. I think sometimes it is obvious...for example a dark copper coin looks better on a white background and a brilliant gold or blast white silver coin looks better on black.

But, when it comes to toned coins (especially toned silver)...I am having a harder time. In my head, it seems like black would be the better choice but when I ask for critiquing on CT the most common thing I get is to change the background. Is white generally the better choice for colorfully toned silver...and if it's not a hard rule, how do you know when is right.

Here is an example of a coin I posted the other day. 1964 Quarter with some nice colorful toning. Nothing crazy, not a super dark coin. What I would consider a nicely looking toner.

Which background is better...and more importantly, why?

 

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I know most people like the black background, but I have always been partial to white. I guess that is why I like the NGC holders. The only exception is gold coins which look better both with black backgrounds and the black NGC holders.

 

With this coin...to me the coin looks brighter with the white background. It's exactly the same though. I wonder if I should use white as a general rule with toning.

 

IMO, The white BGrd. puts more emphasis on toned coins & blast white against black.
J.T.

 

I am absolutely not a photographer. I struggle with cell phone photos. Looking at your examples from a layman’s standpoint, the white background brings the coins beauty squarely into view for me. It gets somewhat lost on the black background..... That’s me anyway.

 

The answer is: it depends. The biggest thing is you want contrast. The coin you show appears either a bit darker toned or a bit underlit, and so you need the white background for contrast.

Compare that to this rather pale coin - it would get lost on a white background and thus needs the black background:

 

I started out using nothing but black. After a few years I tried white and started liking it more. I'll probably switch back again in a few years.

 

I like both but use black or dark blue most of the time.

 

95% of the stuff I photog is done with a black background and the reason being is, I like the contrast........the black makes it pop. Also too.......when I photograph something it is almost always done with a piece of black felt behind the object of my affection. I believe that it keeps the light where I want it as opposed to white felt, which I believe scatters the light.

 

I think your 1964 quarters look good on both backgrounds, but they each have a different feel. The only thing that is necessary about choosing a background is that it compliments the coin, so what aspect or feature of the coin are you trying to show? Then ask yourself which color background best compliments that feature? Maybe it's not black or white background at all, but a complimentary color or texture?

Generally, a coin appears brighter on a black background and darker on a white background. Obviously it's an optical illusion. How bright do you want your coin too appear? The backgrounds in the images below are stark contrasts to the coin.




Here's the same coin on a background color that was picked form the coin itself. It feels warmer, because the color is a warm hue, and it creates a pleasing harmony between the tones of the coin and the rest of the image.



I often pick a minor color in the coin, that contrasts the primary coin color, as a background, like the image below.



Or you can choose a lighter or darker sample of the primary color in the coin, and add a texture, like the image below.



or a blend of several choices...



At the end of the day, which background makes your coin look the best it can?

 

I will say, there are a few things I absolutely hate in coin pictures/backgrounds. @Denis Richard has brilliantly demonstrated several of them (and sometimes multiples in a single frame!, as shown by that absolutely awful bottom composite)

1. I absolutely despise "reflections." I don't want to see fancy photoshop tricks. I want to see the coin.

2. I hate textured backgrounds. They almost always distract from the coin, producing a busy visual that takes something away from the coin (even if its a fairly subtle texture that keeps with the color palette of the coin, such as the example shown).

3. I absolutely cannot stand logos, branding, or company names. Am I looking at a coin picture that I want to share with my friends, or am I looking at a picture on a dealer's website that he's trying to sell me? A dealer can brand their photos so that you know its a coin in their inventory, but I absolutely don't want to see any sort of branding on an image I'm going to use for personal use.

4. The only time a logo, slogan, motto, or website should be on a coin photo is for advertising. And I'm not advertising any of my coins.

If you're going to put text on the image, then limit it to something incredibly simple: cert number (and that's it); grade (even simpler); for non-US coins limit it to country (only if it doesn't clearly say it on the coin)/denomination (again, only if it doesn't clearly say on the coin)/date (only if its not immediately obvious, for example in a foreign script or regnal year)/grade (maybe KM number).

 

On an individual coin basis, I actually really like the idea of choosing a non-standard color background to complement each individual coin.

However, if I were looking through an on-line set (Registry set, for example), and every single coin had a different color background, I think I'd go mad. For practical purposes (and uniformity), I need a background that matches across a set.

 

Thanks for taking the time to comment so candidly. As a professional coin photographer, I create images of all kinds, to meet varied customer needs and applications. Naturally, I brand my personal use reference images for posting in forums like this. Rest assured that if you were a customer and requested your images be provided as you detailed above, I would happily do so.

I noticed in your earlier post you didn't actually comment on the coin photography, but rather just the peripheral issues. Looking past those concerns, care to comment on the coin photography?

 

You have nice imaging skills but that's not the topic of this thread. It's clear that you are using this site to advertise your business. Most every post you make is an ad for your business.
This site has a set of forums for advertising.

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Thank you for the site information. Yes, I am a professional coin photographer. This thread is about choosing background colors in coin photography, a subject I have considerable experience in. The threads I reply to are not posted by people that want to buy coin photography, but rather people that want to improve their own photography. My comments are aimed at that. Read my posts; they are free professional advice to improve coin photography for everyone. There are far more fantastic coins out there than I could photograph in a dozen lifetimes.

I provide images in my posts for reference to the point my comments are making, and I brand those images so people know this is professional advice, not amateur suggestions.

 

There are several professional coin photographers on this site. They don't use the site to advertise their business. They are able to help others without creating an ad with every image they post.

 

I don't use a white background when making any of my coin images.
I've found that the light coming off of a white background tends to darken the coin.
Not enough light comes off the coin and you can end up with a dark disc.
There are LOTS of coins on eBay that I might buy or bid on that I don't because I can't see the features well enough because they are too dark.

I use a flat black or dark gray background.
I don't even use dark colors because they seem to affect the color of a coin that the camera sees.

 

The OP has both a logo and text graphics in both of his photos. Blasting @Denis Richard for including his business name in the text is over the top IMO. The end result is that he is showing Richie an assortment of coin photos with different background colors, textures, and text options to illustrate that any combination can work as long tailor made to the coin and that he shouldn't limit himself to just "black and white". In fact, one could make the argument that by showing these photos with his company adds credibility to his post, because he is showing how the "professionals" do it.

 

I 100% agree and I appreciate the information. Paul is right...I'm not using blank black/white backgrounds either. I'm using a granite pattern which I make semi-transparent and then put black or white behind it to soften it.

I had never considered using another color so seeing some examples is very helpful.

As for not putting a logo or a branding on it...I'm going to continue to do so. I do a lot of digital art and I brand all of it. I don't see how this is any different. I don't sell my services...but I have had some of my intellectual property stolen and sold. Again, not coin stuff (and that stuff I now heavily watermark so it can't be stolen and sold)...but I will put my logo on stuff.

 

So, after setting up the camera so it is recognised by the computer, I have taken my first ever shots with a DSLR camera. Obviously i didn't have the lens exactly parallel to the coins surface, that was immediately obvious with the denticles at the bottom not in focus. The images have not been edited in any way, they are exactly as shot. If you have any tips about lighting it would be great. I currently have two LED lamps on flexible stalks with variable brightness adjustment