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New additions and growing photography frustrations
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34 posts in this topic

After a super busy week, I finally found time today to sit down and look at my most recent purchases. I have included pictures below. Anyone who has read my previous posts will likely be able to tell that I have not perfected my photography skills any further. I am all ears on that subject!

1. 1692 Ireland halfpenny (S-6597). I absolutely love the look of this coin hand. It is the epitome of the even chocolate brown color that one would expect and hope to see on a 327-year old problem free piece of copper. This example also happens to have unbarred A’s in “GRATIA”, which is a scarce variety! I must have taken 1,000 pictures of this coin trying to capture the color. I am beyond frustrated with taking photos. :tonofbricks:

2063212160_1692IrelandHlafpennyObv..thumb.jpg.e4adee9c2bea4b36399073540ef3b530.jpg882174935_1692IrelandHlafpennyRev..thumb.jpg.5b2d2e4079927b641d5449bd87155738.jpg

2. 1697 England halfpenny (S-3554; Peck-650). This is a decent heavily circulated example of the “no stop after TERTIVS” variety, which unbeknown to me at the time is very rare variety.

TEST.thumb.jpg.846b4a17a5ed716c534389a80bcd7dd5.jpg12982036_unnamed(1).thumb.jpg.84f7968ed1694b0f9b8c8d11a1f9cd71.jpg

3. 1799 Great Britain Penny (S-3778; Peck-1249). This a nice example of a fairly common Soho strike, but I did not have one in my set.

787983877_1799GreatBritianObv.1.thumb.jpg.9135f920b84d44179a0d67d67502cf98.jpg1936594229_1799GreatBritianRev.1.thumb.jpg.2396bf3af80c579b922f7e0f4e9e3aba.jpg

Edited by coinsandmedals
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4.  1789 Middlesex George III Felicitas Publica Medal (D&H 180). This was an impulse purchase. I was aware of the reverse issues when I bought it, but I was happy with the price and it adds to both my Soho and Droz sets. The pictures are from the seller. He was kind enough to share them with me.

1891847013_1789DrozMedalObv_MINI.png.2f22d6ed750f12c97335e8f317ac877d.png1513733312_1789DrozMedalRev_MINI.png.a8723286c1a2c3aa1f437ab69eb81116.png

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I can honestly say that I don't think I'm qualified to give you advice on photos. I usually just bluff my way through as best as I can and what you have seems pretty solid overall.

A few things I might suggest would be using diffusion panels and / or bouncing lights off white surfaces / umbrellas might help soften your light and avoid blown out highlights and speculative shine on the coin surface. As far as color goes? Every type of light has a typical range or "temperature" values, measured in Kelvin, the roughly corresponds to the temperature at which a black body radiator would release radiation. You can figure that out for most types of light / bulb and cameras come with presets for the most common ones, but there's a bit of natural variance in it and the temperature of the lights will tend to shift over the life of the light. So it's usually necessary for me to adjust the image in the computer to get the results as good as possible. I usually shoot with a DSLR, shoot in RAW and adjust the temperature setting later when I'm on my PC.

Something else to consider is that your computer monitor / display can be / needs to be properly calibrated or what you see and what we see might not be the same thing.

Don't you just love digital photography?

DSC_0569 1888 OBV.jpg

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16 hours ago, Revenant said:

I can honestly say that I don't think I'm qualified to give you advice on photos. I usually just bluff my way through as best as I can and what you have seems pretty solid overall.

A few things I might suggest would be using diffusion panels and / or bouncing lights off white surfaces / umbrellas might help soften your light and avoid blown out highlights and speculative shine on the coin surface. As far as color goes? Every type of light has a typical range or "temperature" values, measured in Kelvin, the roughly corresponds to the temperature at which a black body radiator would release radiation. You can figure that out for most types of light / bulb and cameras come with presets for the most common ones, but there's a bit of natural variance in it and the temperature of the lights will tend to shift over the life of the light. So it's usually necessary for me to adjust the image in the computer to get the results as good as possible. I usually shoot with a DSLR, shoot in RAW and adjust the temperature setting later when I'm on my PC.

Something else to consider is that your computer monitor / display can be / needs to be properly calibrated or what you see and what we see might not be the same thing.

Don't you just love digital photography?

Thank you for the thoughtful response Revenant! I have seen your photography skills in your journal posts, and I think you are more than qualified to give me advice. Bouncing the light off white surfaces is a great idea. I will have to test that out and see if it works for me. Part of the issue I am having is that I do not have a set space or setup. I usually use a stack of books to get about 5 or so inches from the coin and I use a single desk lamp as my lighting source. I typically keep the edge of the lamp at the same level as my iPhone 7. I never adjust any of the iPhone settings from default because I am not familiar enough with them to do so; however, I do typically touch the screen one time to focus on the coin. I need to try to find a 101-crash course on iPhone photography. I checked out some of the DSLR cameras, but I cannot justify that kind of investment right now. If I must choose between the camera and a coin, the coin will win every time.

You bring up a very good point about calibrating my computer screen. I am ashamed to say that it did not even cross my mind.  

Nice 10 Guilder by the way!

 

14 hours ago, Mk123 said:

your picture of the 1789 medal is just fantastic! Keep it up!

I appreciate the encouragement but that is not my work. Maybe sometime in the future, I will be able to take images like that.

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10 minutes ago, coinsandmedals said:

You bring up a very good point about calibrating my computer screen. I am ashamed to say that it did not even cross my mind.  

I wouldn't be embarrassed. I brought it up specifically because it's something that many people aren't aware of. I deal with digital photography A LOT more than most people.

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Cell phone pics are not that easy and something of a compromise, ats I asked for some suggestions on this subject recently so here is a link to that discussion which may be of some use to you.

 

Photo help

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12 hours ago, Revenant said:

I wouldn't be embarrassed. I brought it up specifically because it's something that many people aren't aware of. I deal with digital photography A LOT more than most people.

I am more so disappointed in myself than embarrassed. My newest line of research involves eye tracking technology which requires constant calibration. If I had only applied the principles I use in my research to my hobby I may have been able to take better pictures.

5 hours ago, Coinbuf said:

Cell phone pics are not that easy and something of a compromise, ats I asked for some suggestions on this subject recently so here is a link to that discussion which may be of some use to you.

 

Photo help

Thank you for sharing the link Coinbuf. That was a very informative read. I will try it out next time. Do you personally have any suggestions?

3 hours ago, thisistheshow said:

coinsandmedals, are you using the flash? If you are try disabling it. 

Thanks for the reply thisistheshow. I never use the flash because it often creates “hot spots” that are not easily avoided. My lighting leaves a lot to be desired for. It is a work in progress, but I am happy to have such a supportive community here.

Edited by coinsandmedals
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I took your advice Revenant and tried to diffuse some of the light with white surfaces.  I am very pleased and encouraged with how these images came out. This coin in hand has phenomenal toning which is captured fairly well. Even the hints of red luster nearest to the devices showed up much better. I also tried using different color balance sheets and found the black to be most accurate. I plan to incorporate some of the things I read in the link shared by coinbuf next round. I will be sure to share my journey as time permits. I also want to thank everyone for the thoughtful replies and encouragement.

5. 1806 Great Britain halfpenny (S-3780; Peck-1342).  

275886116_1806GreatBritainHalfpennyObv.-Copymini.jpg.03417ec6a93d5d4806d22816cd037a8d.jpg1739806010_1806GreatBritainHalfpennyRev.-Copymini.jpg.9cb07d12847d11f0a354438d9c1a3a27.jpg

Edited by coinsandmedals
Added coin detials
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1 hour ago, Just Bob said:

Has anyone ever tried the milk jug light diffuser set-up with a phone camera?

 

No, but I may do it soon. That could be fun to try.

What I use most of the time is basically what's in the photo below except I use strobes / speedlites and a DSLR with a macro lens. My step-father bought the folding, portable shadow-box / diffuser box as a present years ago but I've never been a fan of those lights. I like a little more power.

51B5CVm6j0L.jpg

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10 hours ago, Just Bob said:

Has anyone ever tried the milk jug light diffuser set-up with a phone camera?

image.png.54f3b23d5ed9061bc78cfecf5a90df75.png

Hmmmm that is interesting. Do you think a single light source would be sufficient? I may try this out next time. 

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On ‎2‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 7:23 PM, coinsandmedals said:

Thank you for sharing the link Coinbuf. That was a very informative read. I will try it out next time. Do you personally have any suggestions?

No I'm still a work in progress myself and your last photo looked great.  I have had much better luck shooting raw coins vs slabbed so far, I have a couple different thickness of cardboard and I'm going to experiment with putting those under the slab to raise it up slightly to get a better focus/sharpness.  Also trying some Jansjo lights from Ikea (fairly cheap with good brightness), and different diffuser materials.

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21 hours ago, Coinbuf said:

No I'm still a work in progress myself and your last photo looked great.  I have had much better luck shooting raw coins vs slabbed so far, I have a couple different thickness of cardboard and I'm going to experiment with putting those under the slab to raise it up slightly to get a better focus/sharpness.  Also trying some Jansjo lights from Ikea (fairly cheap with good brightness), and different diffuser materials.

Thank you! I am particularly proud of that one. I have not even started to think about photographing slabs. I have a few slabs from my last submission that I will eventually try out. Please update this thread with your images and what you discover. I started the thread to share my new purchases, but I had really hoped this conversation would take the direction it would.

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On ‎2‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 7:36 PM, coinsandmedals said:

Thank you! I am particularly proud of that one. I have not even started to think about photographing slabs. I have a few slabs from my last submission that I will eventually try out. Please update this thread with your images and what you discover. I started the thread to share my new purchases, but I had really hoped this conversation would take the direction it would.

So far this is the best raw coin photo that I've taken, lighting still needs work but it is close to the in hand look.  I'm using a Samsung phone and the camera doesn't seem as good as the iPhone judging from some pics I've seen put up ats.  I have not had any time at all the past two weekends but may set aside a few hours this weekend for photos.

 

 

1946-D-Comp.jpg

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On 2/6/2019 at 11:17 PM, coinman1794 said:

Make sure to set the white balance on your camera if possible. Some of your backgrounds have a noticeable, reddish tinge.

Thank you for letting me know coinman1794! I adjusted my white balance as best as I could. Please let me know if new pictures how the same reddish tinge. 

On 2/8/2019 at 11:57 AM, Coinbuf said:

So far this is the best raw coin photo that I've taken, lighting still needs work but it is close to the in hand look.  I'm using a Samsung phone and the camera doesn't seem as good as the iPhone judging from some pics I've seen put up ats.  I have not had any time at all the past two weekends but may set aside a few hours this weekend for photos.

 

 

1946-D-Comp.jpg

That is a petty sharp looking image. Copper seems to be the hardest to capture the true look/color. Keep us updated please!

6 hours ago, BLive1972 said:

These look great!  

Thank you!

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I did my best to incorporate as many of the suggestions both in this thread and the one coinbuf posted ATS. I also played around with PowerPoint a bit to get the background and circular cropping.The colors are way more accurate but it seems as though I lost some of the sharpness. Let me know what you all think!

1719898900_1682IrelandHalfpenny.thumb.jpg.ad4d8d37d629ef067f395dadda8e9ac0.jpg1138260478_1692Irelandhalfpenny.thumb.jpg.5d9937a04c730b6a7d6ffe5d322db198.jpg243871060_1769IrelandHalfpenny.thumb.jpg.df791da7aa9ae391789966a576663257.jpg705577925_1697Englandhalfpenny.thumb.jpg.67066ba39c2864c8025ab204396e7423.jpg1935127423_1717EnglandHalfpenny.thumb.jpg.2ed6e9fe3e28a00c780685139890ca37.jpg381477737_1736EnglandFarthing.thumb.jpg.c895e8e30192b99b00fcf4e1d14f3418.jpg1197013472_1788EnglandPatternHalfpennyDroz.thumb.jpg.0a3f35048eb804f48d5af868bc66aa38.jpg1091334228_1797EnglandTwoence.thumb.jpg.cea75769c688d4a0690aa15716081537.jpg1957972395_1799EnglandHalfpenny.thumb.jpg.ec6c7e8326259bf6c7f2cd6ea77e013d.jpg1269288959_1806EnglandHalfpenny.thumb.jpg.83c2d33b7afba8c6c02d11d157e81bb8.jpg1347105620_1793Bermuda.thumb.jpg.db695e950f881f635405f99f617eacb3.jpg2090394486_1791SierraLeone.thumb.jpg.167612d5a65e17aadc8f23cff1f217a4.jpg

Edited by coinsandmedals
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20 hours ago, Coinbuf said:

Here is my most recent attempt at some photos with my cell phone.  This coin is in an NGC holder and coins in holders are still a struggle for me, these are ok but still not great.

That is a pretty good shot and a nice coin! I think you face a whole different slew of challenges than I do because you are taking pictures of lustrous silver-colored coins as compared to my usually well circulated brown copper coins. I tried my luck photographing these coins in NCG holders. I think I have plenty of room for improvement, but I am not sure what my next step should be to do so. I also may need to change my background color. Any suggestions?

151399416_1682Overall.thumb.jpg.fc28661a8c53e174c7630f949c8c9e83.jpg1155204059_1742IrelandOverall.thumb.jpg.3efa6c9325d02fcafcfd013fb61f6815.jpg1430591984_1805Overall.thumb.jpg.9f27a4402c23673e25e37d2ffed6c08d.jpg688240312_1806Overall.thumb.jpg.e5825abb1069aba8d294373be516f579.jpg679613505_1696Overall.thumb.jpg.8be0077140b1e6550bff15018f781150.jpg1788078236_1788DrozOverall.thumb.jpg.7cf5a1af8a2ad2d875a23d9265600c73.jpg397593156_1797PennyOverall.thumb.jpg.57d4414aa93f4820bc012c9cb84034fb.jpg766074531_1793Overall.thumb.jpg.c5024ea79eb6d7fdd35af71605f4966d.jpg

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Thanks, the shot is ok but I am going to play around with some more/different diffusing materials and see if that helps reduce the brightness.  The biggest issue still is the sharpness is not very good, but perhaps with better diffusion that will improve also.  Very nice job on those copper coins, dark copper is tough for sure and I think a lighter background might show the coin better, med grey or a light blue perhaps.  Coins not in holders are so much easier, these two I shot at the same time as the buff.  These light colored tokens/souvenirs (some items that my father-in-law picked up somewhere)  look great against a darker background color, now if I can just get my in slab shots to have the sharpness of these shots.

 

Masonic-token.jpg

Powell-token.jpg

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Well please keep this thread updated with what you find works the best. If you have not already tried using the app “VSCO” it may be somewhat helpful. It allows you to manually set your focus which could prove useful for slab shots. Thank you for the compliment and the suggestion. I played around with light grey but I did not try a light blue. My image quality is still all over the place. Once I hone that down a little more I need to just find a nice background that I like and stick to it.

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28 minutes ago, Coinbuf said:

Took a look at the VSCO app, looks to be somewhat different for android and it costs $20 a month so I'll keep it in mind if it ever changes to a free app.

Oh wow that is very different than the IOS version. I have the option to pay $20 a month but the version I have been using is free. 

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I'm a professional numismatic photographer. While every coin is different, there are three main techniques to photograph them. Axial Lighting, Offset Lighting and Natural Light.  The images below are samples of each technique.   See if you can figure out which is which and lets discuss the finer points of coin photography.

Feb 27 2020-2.jpg

March 3 2020-1.jpg

May 14 2020-1.jpg

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