Photo Critique Please - Dial Up Warning

[JCM-Houston]

I am patiently trying to learn to photograph my coins and would appreciate any critique or help. I've read most of what I can find on the web and am still just using a single 18 watt 5100K fl.located approximately 18" from the coin. Camera is an Olympus E300 with the kit zoom, I have a 100mm (equiv) macro on order though. I'm using a tripod with an electronic remote shutter release. I normally use the unsharp mask filter, amount 120-150%, radius 3 pixels, threshhold 6 levels. These are all slabbed with the plastic decent but some marks on them.

 

I'm fairly happy with the Bay Bridge, it does have real heavy gold tone, maybe the luster doesn't show quite as much as it does in hand.

 

 

The Boone I am reasonably ok with the color, for some reason on this particular coin it's not as sharp an image as the others. However the image is not nearly as smooth as the actual coin. On the Long Island that follows even more so, in hand the LI has a really creamy looking luster and the graduation to the light gold rim is very smooth.

 

 

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

[pendragon1998]

I'd say for starters that you ought to look at exposure (yours are on the underexposed side); highlights and shadows (you've got a lot of blown highlights); and focus (are you using a tripod?). Keep at it and you'll continue to improve.

 

Did you see my WYNTK article, entitled What You Need to Know: Online Resource Review: Coin Photography Technique?

[EZ_E]

Try using two light sources and experiment with their angles. I sometimes even hold one OTT light in my hand and will play with it to get the best visualization of the coin.

 

You're using a remote exposure and a tripod so it is weird that you got motion on the Boone commem, o/w it would have been your best pic.

 

The first one is probably a pretty coin but you need more light to be able to appreciate it.

 

The bottom commem is technically correct but your lighting is once again, all wrong. Try to minimize exagerated glare and shadows.

 

But, if you are just a beginner, you're doing pretty darn good! (thumbs u

[MikeInFL]

Pic #1 is underexposed.

Pic #2 is blurry -- looks like camera shake (handheld?)

Pic #3 has harsh lighing and is a touch blurry.

 

You also seem to need to try to move around your lights to get more even light across the entire coin. Try moving the light "higher" (i.e. closer to the line of sight coming out of the lens).

[JCM-Houston]

Thanks guys, i did use a tripod with remote release on all the pics. I did try +1 on exposure on some pics last night and while they generally look better there are still some blown highlights. I moved the lighting so that it's about 36" from the coin, angled about 20-30 degrees from the coin, I'm going to try your suggestions to get the light more on line to see how that works.

 

Thanks for the links to the pic threads, I'll spend the weekend reading through those.

[MikeInFL]

Thanks guys, i did use a tripod with remote release on all the pics. I did try +1 on exposure on some pics last night and while they generally look better there are still some blown highlights. I moved the lighting so that it's about 36" from the coin, angled about 20-30 degrees from the coin, I'm going to try your suggestions to get the light more on line to see how that works.

 

Thanks for the links to the pic threads, I'll spend the weekend reading through those.

 

20 to 30 degrees is WAY too low, and explains in large part the challenges you've faced thusfar with getting the coin evenly lit.

 

Try between 60 and 85 degrees to the plane of the coin.

 

Your blown highlights should go away with this as the lighing will be less harsh (i.e. less likely to blow highlights due to too much dynamic range in your photo with the "low angle" lights).

[MikeInFL]

Also, on sharpening, try using a smaller radius. I generally use between:

 

75%, .5 radius, 3 levels

100%, .7 radius, 5 levels

 

I think you will find the results more pleasing.

[BillJones]

You can wonders with a photo software adjustment program. Does thing look anything like the Bay Bridge you posted?

 

[MikeInFL]

Bill,

 

One has to be careful, as I'm sure you understand, from using post-processing to rescue an otherwise poorly-exposed image. When you do so, particularly with underexposed photos as you have done above, you introduce a great deal of noise into the photo due to the much lower signal:noise ratio (SNR) in an underexposed photo.

 

In general, it is far better to get things such as exposure and white balance done correctly in-camera rather than try and correct such things in post processing.

 

While you can often "rescue" photos in post processing, you will get much better results if you get it right when you capture the image in-camera.

 

Respectfully....Mike

[MikeInFL]

Thanks for the links to the pic threads, I'll spend the weekend reading through those.

 

Take a look at this website while you're at it....

 

http://coinimaging.com/

[Oldtrader3]

Maybe you should try neutral density filters of 30% and 60% to see if that will bring your photo-print contrast range back into the number of light zones which are in your color prints. Color prints have a much more compact number of contrast ranges than black and white photographs.

[MikeInFL]

ND filters won't help the problem he's having, as I doubt he's anywhere near the limit of the shutter speed of his camera. All it will do is lower the overall exposure and he'll lose low-end detail.

 

The hot spots are generally caused by uneven light, which is most easily fixed by moving the light closer to perpendicular to the plane of the coin. Move the light "higher" and the hot spots will go away.

 

Respectfully submitted...Mike