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Photographing gold coins
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Mar 21, 2014 11:04:36   #
izzi Loc: Fort Walton Beach, Florida
 
I built a website for a client, www.themarylandmint.com and take a lot of his photos for his coins now. Its just as tough as can be because it seems that I always get a reflection of the camera in the coin. Has anyone ever had to take photos of gold coins?

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Mar 21, 2014 11:10:08   #
gemlenz Loc: Gilbert Arizona
 
I suggest using a macro lens on a tripod, no flash, manual focus, natural light

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Mar 21, 2014 11:13:12   #
oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA
 
i have trird but i think gold and chrome are two colors they left out of the digital sensors color spectrum.

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Mar 21, 2014 11:15:46   #
oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA
 
oldtigger wrote:
i have trird but i think gold and chrome are two colors they left out of the digital sensors color spectrum.


in product shooting we just poke the lens through a hood; no detail/contrast in the reflection to be recorded.

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Mar 21, 2014 11:16:08   #
DaveMM Loc: Port Elizabeth, South Africa
 
gemlenz wrote:
I suggest using a macro lens on a tripod, no flash, manual focus, natural light
If you need artificial light, one on each side at 45 degrees to the vertical will be best.

Perhaps it is worth using a piece of black velvet or similar material to cover the camera with only a hole for the lens.

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Mar 21, 2014 11:19:21   #
Armadillo Loc: Ventura, CA
 
izzi wrote:
I built a website for a client, www.themarylandmint.com and take a lot of his photos for his coins now. Its just as tough as can be because it seems that I always get a reflection of the camera in the coin. Has anyone ever had to take photos of gold coins?


izzi,

Your problem is very similar to photographing anything with flat surfaces, light from the camera or the camera itself is captured as a reflected object.

Try setting up your subject, camera, and lights at 45 degree angles from each other. The 45 degree angle will not remove the reflections, it will redirect the reflections away from the camera lens.

This method is very similar to Forensic photography in in court cases. It is most commonly used with twin table lamps and a Macro shooting table.

Michael G

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Mar 21, 2014 11:24:24   #
steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA
 
izzi wrote:
I built a website for a client, www.themarylandmint.com and take a lot of his photos for his coins now. Its just as tough as can be because it seems that I always get a reflection of the camera in the coin. Has anyone ever had to take photos of gold coins?


I have no experience with gold coins, but you might try using a light box (maybe sometimes called soft box). They are cubes of translucent material open on one side, in which you place the object to be photographed. Supplemental lighting is most often directed at the object from outside the box.

Additionally, they often include a separate sixth side which has a slit cut in the middle and attaches to the front of the cube via velcro. You then slip your lens through this slit, and hide the rest of the camera (and you).

In doing so, you may find the need to shoot in full manual, as some of your camera's sensors may be blocked.

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Mar 21, 2014 11:29:59   #
oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA
 
Armadillo wrote:
izzi,Try setting up your subject, camera, and lights at 45 degree angles from each other. The 45 degree angle will not remove the reflections, it will redirect the reflections away from the camera lens. Michael G


the spatial relationship of dates versus image and edge design can be very important in determining which die set was used and production run of the coins. Do not under any circumstance shoot other than dead center and perpendicular.

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Mar 21, 2014 13:30:36   #
jgitomer Loc: Skippack Pennsylvania
 
izzi wrote:
I built a website for a client, www.themarylandmint.com and take a lot of his photos for his coins now. Its just as tough as can be because it seems that I always get a reflection of the camera in the coin. Has anyone ever had to take photos of gold coins?


I had similar problems photographing artwork under glass.

My solution is to use two lights at 45 degrees from the coins and cover the camera and tripod with a black non-reflecting cloth.

You will have to do some experimenting to determine the best distance your lights should be from the coins.

Hope this helps

Jerry

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Mar 21, 2014 14:22:06   #
jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA
 
45 degrees from the horizontal position of product is pretty much a standard. However, as with a lot of things, this is only a starting point for light placement.

The main thing to keep in mind is the angle of the lighting should not reflect into your camera position from the product.

With coins, you may want to play with a more extreme lower angle to create shadows of the contours of the coin's face. The inclusion of shadow creates depth and contrast. The opposite of what an enclosed softbox will deliver.

Having some diffusion on the light source will ease the shadow edges. Think of it as a micro version of a portrait. Flat lighting is not the way portraiture is lit, so why do it with any other dimensional subject. 45 degrees may give you the contour you need, but try different angles and see for yourself the differences.

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Mar 21, 2014 14:41:29   #
GC likes NIKON Loc: East Greenwich, Rhode Island
 
I used the search function for you and came up with the following information: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/search.jsp?q=Photographing+coins&u=&s=0

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Mar 21, 2014 14:43:11   #
GC likes NIKON Loc: East Greenwich, Rhode Island
 
You might actually get better results with a scanner than a camera !!!

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Mar 21, 2014 17:23:35   #
jerrylh Loc: Texas
 
use a polarizer filter and it will remove most of it. Play with it and the position of your light.

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Mar 22, 2014 07:25:03   #
Dave Chinn
 
GC likes NIKON wrote:
You might actually get better results with a scanner than a camera !!!


This is what I was going to suggest !!! I have foreign coins from when I was in the service that I scanned and they looked fine. Although, I did have to copy and paste if I wanted them on a different background.

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Mar 22, 2014 07:39:08   #
wrogers Loc: Kew Gardens, NY
 
As someone already said: macro lens, tripod, and window daylight coming from an angle to avoid the reflection. In another discussion someone advised to search on the Web using the search keys [pop-up light box] or light tent. I've never used one of these devices but from one of the ads I read it seems they don't cost much and consist of a little stage with little lights on the side. You place small things on the stage to photograph without unwanted refections. I saw several starting at about $39 to $50. You might even examine these things closely on their websites and then make one using things found around the house.

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