I'm always striving to improve my photography skills, and would love some feedback from others here. Lustrous toned coins are a bit of a difficulty for me, as it seems I have to make a tradeoff between showing the full range of color (with low contrast) or showing the strength of the luster (high contrast). Which photo do you prefer? #1 - High contrast at the expense of color #2 - Fuller color at the expense of contrast And please feel free to offer any suggestions on reaching that balance between color and luster.
It needs to look like it does in hand. "Highlighting" something on the coin is nice, but not representative of what it looks like in hand. When you have the coin, in good light, which is the better example of what you see? Is the rub on the cheek more like picture 1? Are the marks in the hair around the ear area more like Picture 2? Is the spot in the field up and to the left of the number "1" more like picture 1 or picture 2? Is it a bright coin (picture 2) or a more metalic look (picture 1). Maybe the coin looks different than either of these pictures. We are looking at pictures that are very magnified compared to looking at the coin with eyes at no magnification. This does not even mention that computer screens are terrible to use as a judge as all are different and none are calibrated for color. So the coin will look different on different screens (if you have two screens, move the photo between them and you can see the changes). This is one big reason coin pictures are so difficult...what looks like the coin in your hand, on your screen, will look different to someone else using a different screen. Talk to artists/graphics people...computer color is terrible for judging color (has to do with backlit screen versus reflected light off the object) Try your best at getting the picture to look like the coin in hand.
It is difficult, visually I would say picture 2, however if it is not how the coin actually looks it really is a mute point.
Both images are technically quite nice. I know it's the "mantra" of people to repeat the phrase "make the coin look like it does in hand"...unfortunately that's not possible. We can approach the look of particulars, like color and luster, but we can never make a coin look exactly as it does in hand in one photographic image. How a coin looks in hand depends on all of the variables and conditions under which it is viewed -- just a few of which are type and intensity of lighting, angle of coin to light source, and even some variables like your personal vision acuity, etc. We also see coins in hand stereoscopically, not as a camera lens does. All of that being said, I think both of your images are likely decent representations of the coin.
Thanks for posting. I would agree that both pictures represent the coin as it looks in hand—the first represents how the coin looks when angled away from the light, and the second represents how the coin looks when angled into the light. It definitely is possible to conceal defects or augment color with lighting (especially with more vibrantly-toned coins), but that's not really the case here. The responses are mixed, but it seems from the poll that people prefer the 2nd photo, with softer contrast and a fuller color.
Hmm, send me the coin, I'll compare and then let you know........oh and of course send it back to you I chose pic 2
