Still working on the white balance thingy...

[texasrichard]

... and at times I think I have it and then I mess up. Sometimes black background looks good and sometimes white works better. I'm a lost soul in the coin photo world wandering aimlessly without my camera manual and using an dinosaur 3 MP Olympus.

 

Here's my latest attempt. One of the coins is the '53 quarter that was soundly drubbed with my last pics. I'm not saying the coin is any better but these pics actually look like the coin does for a change.

 

There's a newp '53 Half thanks to Connecticoin.

 

There's my umpteenth attempt at photographing the Peace dollar as well as the No Arrows dime.

 

Why are some coins harder to shoot than others ? End of

 

[cpm9ball]

Why are some coins harder to shoot than others ?

 

Because they are very small, and if you don't have a very steady hand, you are liable to put a bullet hole through your foot.

 

Chris

 

PS. Your photos look better than mine.

 

[physics-fan3.14]

Your pictures are definitely improving. There still seems to be something off with them, but I'm not expert enough to tell you what it is. They are definitely nothing to be ashamed of, though.

[PCcoins]

I'm not an expert at photographing, but lighting is key. Use alot of light and a

tripod. Don't shoot the coins laying flat on the table. Tilt the coin at an angle and position your tripod angled towards the coin.

[bsshog40]

I think they look pretty good richard.

[rrantique]

Why are some coins harder to shoot than others ?

 

 

Chris

 

PS. Your photos look better than mine.

 

Better than mine also.

[ldhair]

You nailed the white balance. Nice images.

Try the Peace Dollar with the lights at 10:00 and 2:00.

Get them as high and close to the lens as possible.

 

[texasrichard]

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually shot these whle they layed on the island in the kitchen with just the kitchen floroesent (sorry, just realized I don't know how to spell it ) lights overhead. I use a cheap tripod but it works.

 

My problem is the color most of the time. I hadn't tried that tilting the coin thing but I'll give it a shot next time. The peace dollar is tough because its so reflective and I get white areas where the shine is too much.

 

Anyway I enjoy the challenge. Thanks again.

[James_OldeTowne]

In my experience, it isn't the coin that messes up your camera's white balance so much as it is the background. Let's assume you have your camera in "auto whitebalance" mode (which I do). If your camera sees only a silver/grey coin, and only a white-ish background, there is nothing against which to measure the white balance. Therefore, it will likely be messed up, or practically randomly balanced.

 

The solution is to actually image your coin against a colorful background that contains equal parts primary red, primary blue, and primary green colors. I know there are reference sheets you can buy at camera stores, but I simply use an old world map that happens to have all three colors (blue for the ocean, green for the land, and red lettering).

 

With the coin against such a background, the camera will have a "reference" against which to set the white balance. Just be sure approximately equal parts of each color are seen by the camera. It sounds a little complicated, but it isn't really. Once you find a background that works, always use it, and your images should be consistent.

 

Of course, you will likely want to crop out the background.

 

Hope this helps, and good luck, Richard!

[Bruceswar]

I hear people talk about background all the time in regaurds to white balance. "Use a Grey card" "Use a black velvet tray" etc etc Personally I shot all my coins on napkins to keep them off the desk and from scratching. It is more in the lights if you ask me.Without the right lights you will struggle alot.

[cpm9ball]

I actually shot these whle they layed on the island in the kitchen with just the kitchen floroesent fluorescent (sorry, just realized I don't know how to spell it

 

No problem!

 

Chris