Photo re-shoot of my classical Athens tetradrachm

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by ValiantKnight, May 24, 2020.

  1. ValiantKnight

    ValiantKnight Well-Known Member

    I never really 100% liked my photos of my Athens/owl tetradrachm, mainly due to it being a bit on the smaller and blurry side, in turn a product of what I believe was my hastiness to share it here on CT when I received it. So, I decided to try to more carefully take better photos of it.

    The only downside to the new photos that I can see is that they accentuate the yellowish-brown toning (it is not this strong in hand). This "strengthening-of-toning" has happened before with photos of some of my other coins, so its something I'm still trying to work on correcting. I guess its a saturation issue? One of these days I want to try to re-shoot it outside in the hopes I get it to look even closer to how it looks in-hand.

    Old photos:
    vksowl.jpg

    New photos:
    vkowl.jpg

    Feel free to share your own coin photo re-shoots.
     
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  3. Andres2

    Andres2 Well-Known Member

    Better ? adjusted with darker - lighter and colour saturation. Find a program online
    to alter your pics.

    tet Athens CT.jpg
     
  4. Only a Poor Old Man

    Only a Poor Old Man Well-Known Member

    Actually I re-photographed my Athenian Owl recently as well. It was my second ever coin and the original photos were terrible. I got a new phone with a better camera and decided to take new photos. Still pretty amateur set up though. I even kept the coin in the holder (evident from the membrane glare) as the big square frame helped to make sure that one side doesn't end up bigger than the other. Still, it is an improvement from the first pics which I deleted but can be found in my old thread.

    Here are the new pics:

    athenscombo.jpg
     
  5. Andres2

    Andres2 Well-Known Member

    Thats also an easy fix Poor old man , made it also 30 % larger:

    athenscombo.jpg
     
  6. Only a Poor Old Man

    Only a Poor Old Man Well-Known Member

    The reason I kept it small was because I noticed it was getting blurry if I tried to enlarge it myself. I tried to make the photo as close as possible to what the coin looks in hand. I have realised that coin photography is a science that requires good equipment, time and skill. I don't qualify... Having said that, I find it a bit amusing that professional seller photos seem to often be too bright... Luckily for them I don't mind cabinet toning, which is how the coins usually look like in reality.
     
  7. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    The first image seems to have more contrast between lighter and darker areas, making it more dramatic. The second image seems flatter, with less contrast, but the color seems more evenly distributed. I like them both, but the first one is more appealing.

    I guess the question is which one reflects the actual coin the best?
     
  8. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I spent some time this afternoon trying to make a pretty picture of a not so pretty turtle. It is overly bright and high relief as are the owls shown here so glares seem inevitable. The point is whether you can place them where they do less damage. This Aegina stater has a serious die cud under the left swimming turtle so that had to be retained for accuracy. The coin also shows the beak which makes the type look better to me swimming left rather than up as we usually see. This coin seemed to do best when shot outside under overcast sky and it is too late now to try again today. Perhaps there will be another gray sky day soon so I can try again and correct what I don't care for here. Most coins do alright in artificial light but the combination of high relief and bright surfaces drove me outside.
    g41000rp1784out.jpg
     
  9. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    I'm on a long learning curve taking decent photos. I have a skylight in the hallway, where I take the snaps, that diffuses the sunlight, but still, silver coins, being generally quite reflective, and bronze coins being the opposite generally, do pose a challenge in trying to capture a coin's actual appearance.
     
  10. Denis Richard

    Denis Richard Well-Known Member

    I find it interesting that everyone has this desire to capture images of what their coins looks like "in hand", when that's rarely when a coin looks it's best.

    This silver tetradrachm was shot with one light and a piece of diffusion paper. It looks promising in hand, if you see around the glare, but when it's evenly illuminated, with the glare and the extreme contrast controlled, you can see what it actually looks like. This image is a web friendly 1200 pixel version, nowhere near the original resolution, so some texture and detail is lost.

    Silver Tetradrachm.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2020
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  11. PeteB

    PeteB Well-Known Member

    On posts #3 and #4, I think the image would be better with the light coming in from about 1 o'clock, rather than the hard right direction used.
    But that's only a personal preference.
     
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  12. Roerbakmix

    Roerbakmix Well-Known Member

    Just for fun, I edited your photo the way I edit mine:
    image-removebg-preview (11).png
     
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  13. Denis Richard

    Denis Richard Well-Known Member

    I like roerbakmix’s editing of the image above and it got me to wondering how I might edit the same image, so for fun, I did. Here it is. Original image above and edited image below.

    9ABD0583-EBCE-4DEB-A5B7-DAC355695CB8.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2020
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  14. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    As far as the yellowish or brownish cast, that can be controlled in Photoshop under color, saturation. Lowering the saturation removes the cast and makes the coins appear grayer.

    I try not to manipulate the images unduly, try to stay "true" to the coin's appearance.

    I try to take my photos during the day, since I rely on a skylight in the hallway for natural light. Night time photos, with the flash, are less satisfactory. Also, photographing dark bronzes are a real challenge for me. I have much to learn still.
     
  15. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    Here's an image of an Athenian tetradrachm, possibly an imitation, high grade, but with a hairline scratch on the cheek.

    This is one my earlier efforts. The scratch is there, but if I moved the coin a bit, it would be more noticeable. So, this image is something of a compromise.

    Photoshop enables me to completely remove the scratch using the spot healing tool, but that would totally deceptive. I have actually received a coin from auction that had a small area of green deposits edited out of the auction photo. Fortunately the deposits were easy to remove, but, caveat emptor, even when buying from an established auction house.

    D-Camera Imitation Athens Tetradrachm, 16.8 grams, Scratch on Cheek, 5-11-20.jpg
     
  16. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I believe the word here is 'unduly'. It is often necessary to manipulate an image with the coin available for reference to increase or decrease the power of some color/contrast/saturation situation shows up in the out of camera image but does not with the coin in hand. There is no such thing as an unmanipulated image. Cameras use complex routines in the attempt to record the world in a manner that is both accurate and pleasing. Kodak once published a booklet called 'Color as Seen and Photographed' which addressed the problems with color photography in the world of film. Digital photography today allows and requires even greater care to be both accurate and pleasing.

    IMO the last Denis Richard image is extremely well done showing a beautiful coin. I have not seen the coin so I can never know if this is accurate but it sure is pretty.
     
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  17. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    Excellent retake .. and some great photos shown.

    My issue currently is that I have set myself up for "quick and dirty" iPhone photos that are good enough for posting here (in my opinion) .. actually some aren't too bad at all... I am getting better results with experimentation.

    But for some of my nicer coins I would really like some enlargements for my office wall. I do not want photography to be my hobby - I have one. I don't want my meager coin budget diverted.

    Is it even possible to get a nice 5X7 or even 8X10 from an iPhone? Not looking to win any contests but just a fairly nice photo.

    Any advice is appreciated...and if I HAVE to buy a digital camera - what's the most economical option?

    Thanks and cheers!
     
  18. PeteB

    PeteB Well-Known Member

    My Samsung S9+ Android phone gives HUGE files that I must reduce. I don't know about iPhones. Any iPhone experts want to comment?
     
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  19. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

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