Are these pics good enough for a picture grade? I just started taking pics for first time yesterday. All comments welcomed. Thanks Big Ed This is what I made to take pictures with.
They are photos. I just took my first coin photo yesterday. The coin is very shiny and looks like a new coin. As for luster it looks just like my other Morgans. Im sure my photo skills are the problem. But all my Morgans may be over dipped. I don't know? Thanks Big Ed
Not good enough to give an accurate grade, the details are pretty good, but the lighting is off. They do look similar to scans, which can make coins look over-dipped, or the coin could be over dipped, hard to say from the pics. You might want to read up on the articles here: Coin Photography by Mark Goodman
raider34 Thank you. That was exactly what I needed. I never knew any of that stuff. Now its play time. Big Ed
Well it's more than just the pictures themselves that make me think it's been over-dipped. Look closely at the recesses and protected areas - see all that black ? But yet the coin shows no chatter on the rims and no sign of wear that I can see. So the black is not the remains of dirt & grime. The black is the remains of heavy black toning that has been stripped away by dipping the coin. That said, toning all by itself, once it has been allowed to progress to the point that it turns black, strips away most or all of the luster that a coin may have. Add to that the further luster stripping effects of a coin dip ........ And well, you see my point.
I think the picture is just too dark, are you using a daylight bulb in the setup? Definitely take it out of the holder to get a good pic. Based solely on what I see in the pic I would say it is AU, looks like a dull spot on the highpoint over the ear, and the eagle breast looks like it has wear too. Usual highpoint wear. I think the coin probably was dipped too.
Here are pictures I took of a different Morgan. only the second time I took a picture of a coin. I haven't got up the nerve to take them out of the holders yet but I will. I will have to put my gloves on. I have to educate myself on how to use this camera. But while I am learning I will post new pics to see what you guys think, and if I am getting the pictures so the coin can be picture graded. Thanks Big Ed P. S. Thank you all for responding and giving good advice. Love this forum
Those pics are a little better, but still not good enough to give an accurate grade. The luster seems to be a little more apparent, but you're still getting some dark areas on the coin, so keep on experimenting with different angles of the light etc.... Also adjust the white balance on your camera, so the color of the coin is right. This is probably close to the actual color:
Yup, color is way off. Start by using 1 light, raise the light and try to get it as close as you can to the lens without touching it (or getting it too hot if you're using halogen or another hot bulb). Try setting your aperture somewhere between 5-8 and increase your shutter speed to 1/100 or faster. Place a piece of white printer paper or a gray card where the coin would be, and set your custom white balance setting using that lighting setup. Tinker around with all the above settings until you get it to where you want it. If you make any changes to the lighting, it is critical to reset your custom white balance setting for every lighting change you make. -LTB
