First, a compliment to the Numista forum - I am so impressed with the decorum and graciousness with which this forum handles itself. Questions are politely answered, and I've already read so many postings where someone new to coins is not humiliated for asking a "stupid" question. The long-time members here, who clearly are serious coin afficianados, are some of the most gracious, knowledgeable people I've encountered. That's such a breath of fresh air!
Now my question.....
I want to photograph my coins, and would really appreciate some feedback on this test photo that I shot this morning. I plan to shoot all of my coins the same, once I feel like the technique is appropriate. I would therefore appreciate any feedback, suggestions, opinions, etc. on this test photo. Does it visually present the coin to you as you would like to see it in a catalogue, on a website, etc.? Would you have any suggestions for me as far as lighting, presentation, etc.?
I think it's great! Brilliant detail, nice even lighting (no shine and no side darker than another/no shadow). Only thing... if you were to use your pictures for Numista, could you use a white background? That'd be awesome =]
So it would be better to standardize on a white background? Thanks, that's exactly what I'm trying to settle before I shoot my whole collection of coins. I could swap out the background for pure white, no problem!
you don't mind dumb questions - great! So how do you put the coins side by side like that in the same picture?
I assume you need PhotoShop or some other photo editing software to do that? P.S. the pics look excellent to me.
Welcome coinfan,
I must agree here, a superb photograph and it would look better on a white background. With the white background you will need to balance the lighting.
Also, there is this previous thread on photography of coins.
Quote: bam777Welcome coinfan,
I must agree here, a superb photograph and it would look better on a white background. With the white background you will need to balance the lighting.
Also, there is this previous thread on photography of coins.
Yes, I read that thread, thanks. If you feel like my question belongs there, feel free to delete my thread.
That thread seemed to me to be more a fundamental question of camera, lighting, etc. as opposed to my inquiry, which deals with presentation. That may be splitting hairs, I know. I won't be offended if you delete my thread, really. What I have already gleaned from my post is the white background, which is exactly the kind of feedback I wanted.
Many thanks
p.s. I am really impressed with the quality of some of the scanned images. Unfortunately, I don't own a scanner.
Quote: bam777Welcome coinfan,
I must agree here, a superb photograph and it would look better on a white background. With the white background you will need to balance the lighting.
Also, there is this previous thread on photography of coins.
Yes, I read that thread, thanks. If you feel like my question belongs there, feel free to delete my thread.
That thread seemed to me to be more a fundamental question of camera, lighting, etc. as opposed to my inquiry, which deals with presentation. That may be splitting hairs, I know. I won't be offended if you delete my thread, really. What I have already gleaned from my post is the white background, which is exactly the kind of feedback I wanted.
Many thanks
p.s. I am really impressed with the quality of some of the scanned images. Unfortunately, I don't own a scanner.
I won't be removing your thread, it is pertinent here, and you have a clear respect for the website. A new thread is sometimes required, I think. And as you say the post was for a different purpose: to see if your photograph was good enough. Get a scanner and for now keep taking your stunning images. I think your lighting on the coin is just a little strong: particularly for the Reichsmark part of the coin.
I shot this one with a white background. If this seems ok to everybody, I'll shoot the whole collection this way. Thanks!
bam777, I notice your avatar has some tone in the white background, i.e. it's not totally white. Is it your suggestion that it's better to have SOME tone as a background, or totally white, insofar as presenting images of coins?
Thanks!
That is scanner tone. Not as good as your image. Yours is great. I would say yes to shooting your whole collection like that...much better than your other background and if you want I can send you a WWF 50p, you can take a picture and give it to me and keep the coin as payment!
If you just want the white tones cleaned up and brightened, why don't you just email me the scanner file and I can tweak it in photoshop?
Are you in England?
I've seen a couple of articles about the importance of showing luster in coin photography to help assess condition. I think your photos look great but I thought I'd pass along this point of view. I couldn't find the exact article I had in mind but this covers some of the same info:
I've seen a couple of articles about the importance of showing luster in coin photography to help assess condition. I think your photos look great but I thought I'd pass along this point of view. I couldn't find the exact article I had in mind but this covers some of the same info:
Thanks for those links, Phaedrus! This is exactly the kind of helpful information I was seeking here.
I must admit I haven't tried shooting a BU coin yet. I'm trying to establish a way to photograph my coins that gives the viewer an honest, realistic sense of their condition.
there are a lot of photos on Numista that are 1 poor photos, or 2 poor coins. It would be nice if when you took a great photo of a certain coin one could replace the photo on the coin page, until all the coin photos on numista were really great.
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
