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Message:: [QUOTE="robec, post: 24820194, member: 19094"][USER=10103]@green18[/USER], I very much appreciate the too kind words. I basically do what you did in regards to the reverse proofs. Instead of card stock I used a regular piece of white typing paper to achieve a softer look of the device (in this case Miss Liberty's head). Without some sort of diffusion for the lights hot spots and glare will be all over the reflective area. In my case I'm using warm toned LED lights. Even though the color temperature is more on the amber side (3000˚K) with the correct white balance the color will be correct. I cover the light head with ping pong balls cut in half. This spreads the light a little more evenly. Without the diffusion the light head puts out a strong, narrow beam of light, resulting in hot spots or white outs. I'm using 3 lights, so that's a bunch of hot spots. With the reverse proof I went even further and added another step, basically the same step [USER=10103]@green18[/USER] used with his card stock. For me, I used white paper and watched on live view through the computer monitor as I moved it around the lights, careful not to block the lens, until I saw the look I was going for. Without the white paper deflecting the light on to the coin, the bright areas on the coin looked OK, but it wasn't the watery, molten metal look I was hoping for. The lighting was still too harsh. [ATTACH=full]1588839[/ATTACH] Using the white paper as a deflector soften the lighting and gave Miss Liberty's head a much more appealing look, though it did make the overall coin look darker. With more practice that aspect could probably be rectified. With the added deflector you have a choice of a couple of different looks, one like the above with more watery features or one that looks like shiny ebony. [ATTACH=full]1588841[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1588842[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1588843[/ATTACH] There is no set placement of the new diffuser. It's all trial and error. Move it around until you see what you like. The lights also can't be straight up and down. They need to be at around a 45º angle and fairly high, but not above the lens itself. Of course this only works if the coin is raw. If the coin is slabbed there are too many obstacles to overcome. If the coin glare doesn't get you the slab glare will. As for regular proofs, the same thing applies with slabbed versus raw, especially if you have any color to capture. It is next to impossible to capture colorful fields from brilliant proof coins if they are slabbed. It is a little easier if the coin is  raw, but still difficult. You could give the coin a little tilt, but too much will leave most of the coin out of focus. I put a tiny tilt on colorful proofs and move the lights around until you light the fields the way you want them. Just moving the lights up or down or change the angle of the light head will give several different looks. [ATTACH=full]1588844[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1588845[/ATTACH] If you are just working with a silver proof, such as the latest Peace and Morgan with all the white frosted cameo, don't even worry about the fields. Just put the coin flat with the lens flat and the lights at a bit of an angle. You will come out with a nice black and white shot.. Easier if done raw, but this kind of a proof shot is fairly easy if slabbed as well. <img src="https://robecsimages.com/photos/Home2/6dollar/RIWhite_2023Peace_PR2.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> To be clear, this isn't a bible for everyone. This is what works for me.[/QUOTE]

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