I'm working on my photo set up. Looking into several posts on the subject I've taken a few ideas. I've made a prototype tube. Its not perfect and have some tweaking to do. But I want to see if I'm heading in the right direction, if there's even any improvement. This is a recent inexpensive purchase I made. I decided to make my photo experiment coin. Faustina II AR 17mm, 2.8g, Rome 161-175 AD FAVSTINA AVGVSTA draped bust right FECVNDITA standing right holding scepter and infant child RIC 677 Thanks all. And yeah other than the pic critique feel free to share what you will.
There is several times as much light on the bottom half as on the top for each side of the coin resulting in the background not being the same black and the coin being ruined by glare on the lower half. Perhaps the camera is casting a shadow on the top half or the light is aimed improperly. Light falls off with the square of the inverse of the distance (inverse square law) so it is important not to have the light closer to one part of the coin than another. This is no problem if the lights are kept a foot from the coin but a major problem at a couple inches. Play around with the set up and see what you can do to even out the light. Sometimes it is easiest just to light the whole room brightly and shoot the coin without additional lights. Light that has bounced off a white ceiling will seem less harsh than light sent directly from a bulb. Light from a bare bulb is less harsh than light from a bulb in a reflector. Direct sunlight is more harsh than open shade. This image is too harsh. See which of these might apply in the case of how you shot it.
Thanks Doug. I had 2 light sources but tried to bounce them off another object, 1 being the wall the other a tv screen (yes tv was off). Light seems to be my main problem. When I get home I will work on it more.
That textured polyester fabric background (or whatever the material is) didn't work out well either. See if you can find something black and matte.
The problem with the background is that if you're planning on cropping the coin later, its going to be tough. As far as lighting goes, 2 lights are fine. One aimed at 2 and one at 9 o clock. They should be high and not directly facing the coin, the camera should be close to the lamp. It also sounds like you are diffusing the light, this works for certain coins and not so much for others. Diffused light darkens the coin which highlights the toning and shadows while direct light will brighten up the coin. See which ones work for certain coins and also play around with how the lamps are angled, they do make a difference.
I'm experimenting mostly because most of my photos don't do justice. I've gone back and read several threads on the subject. As @icerain said I tried diffusing the light. With some moderns I've had luck using glass. The background that TIF dislikes I can change later, this is just something I rigged for now. I've seen where some use a foam coozie as a tube. Does anyone use that type of set up and does it really help any? I changed things around and tried again. I think theres some improvement, atleast not bright. But seems a little dark. I've seen DougSmiths set up on posts. Love it but don't have the room and can't justify spending the money on a camera I would only use for coins. I'm open to ideas and criticism. That is why I started this and so I can share my collection appealing to view and as close as possible to in hand appearance.
