I decided to try some more coin photography today. I should do better at this as I am a published photographer in an international magazine...but I have not been very good at coin pics. Getting better, I think...comments welcome on the pictures or coins... 1932 Quarter 2008 Arizona Quarter Proof. This is the first US proof I ever owned. Photographing proofs is not easy, I tried three, one of them, the pictures look nothing like the coin...this one is OK, the actual coin is flawless, the holder is not...but that is what the holder is for! 1914 D quarter My first good picture of red copper...note the doubling, as mentioned in the big purchase of Canadian cents thread in world and ancient (not a thread I started). I didn't think to shoot the obverse, oops My first ancient, Roman (what else?) Constantine the Great blurred the reverse a little 1894 S half Panama 1974 proof (I think...) 2008 D dime...the modern, high quality, high lustre coins are proving to be harder then the circulated coins, and silver seems to photograph better then clad...wish I had more of it to practice on Again I blurred the reverse 2008 Bald Eagle Commerative half...my first (of two currently) commeratives...other side is too blurry to bother posting, I'll reshoot This one was really hard to get as it's nearly worn smooth..1876 CC half...my only Carson City coin...too bad it's damaged on the obverse...on the other hand, it was a gift so I am still happy with it I still have some work to do but it's a lot better then it once was. Maybe someday I'll get it where I have none that I have to reshoot for blurryness!
Not bad at all. However, I believe most are over exposed--too bright. Might shorten the exposure time. Also lighting seems to be too direct. Move light source back and to one side and see if this helps. You might also try to diffuse the light. A cheap way to do this is to cut the bottom out of a gal milk jug. Open the top enough to accept the lens of your camera. The opaque milk jug will soften and diffuse the light and may help. Cheap to try! Hope this helps.
Good Show & Great Details are there to see, plus all the other posters have points. Shooting through plastic is........only perfect when everything is perfect. :headbang:
Yes - nice job. The only one I saw that was fuzzy was the reverse of the 2008 dime, plus a few glare spots reflecting off the holder. The coins I liked best was the Barber Halves. Just my humble opinion.
You're on your way to taking great shots. Play aroud with the lighting. As was mentioned the bottom cut out of a milk or water jug works great. You can also try putting a napkin or something like that between the light source and coin. Proofs are tough and I am by no means an expert but if you play around you'll get some nice shots. Good luck!
Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I'll give them a try! I agree that it is too bright, but to get it dialed down to not be overpowering, the coins aren't clear. Something to work on. For the second light source...I've tried that...and no matter what I do (what manual setting I try), it's still just a flash of white. (even on copper). Any suggestions? Is it possible my bulb is too much? It's a 100 watt bulb. I have some 60 and 40 watt bulbs, should I try them? The flash on my camera is exceptionally bright as well. Diffusing that should help though. I'm not sure I understand what you all mean by cutting up a bottle...My lens on my camera is larger then a half dollar so that might be a problem! I'll try diffusing first, but I will play around with a few things.. Thanks again for the advice, and more pictures will be forthcoming soon. I have also found it impossible to get anything if they are not in plastic...all fuzzy would be the best way to describe it...I know putting them in the holders is not the best solution (especially when the holders are scratched and beat up!) but right now it's either that or nothing.
First turn off the flash on the camera and use the lights to provide the lighting. The milk jug suggestion is to use the jug as a diffuser so the light source is spread over an area instead of a single intense spot. The reason I said to use a second light source is because once you turn off the flash and use the diffuser you will tend to have one side of the coin well lit and the other side too dark. By using a second light source set about 120 degrees from the first it tends to provide more light (making exposure easier) and illuminates the dark side plus remove any harsh shadows.
Great job, a little bright but good job. Be sure and tell us what you did when it's where you want it. Thanks
