Photographing the edge of a coin
Mar 14, 2021 19:11:00 #
I’ve been trying to get a photograph of the complete edge of one of my coins with absolutely no success. I know the classic way is by using the reflector from a flashlight. I picked up a couple at Goodwill and got a decent reflection, but have been totally unable to get any decent lighting.
ANY tips on type of reflector, set up and lighting would be greatly appreciated. Tougher than I would have imagined.
ANY tips on type of reflector, set up and lighting would be greatly appreciated. Tougher than I would have imagined.
Mar 14, 2021 19:31:16 #
Mar 14, 2021 19:43:28 #
Mar 14, 2021 19:45:43 #
Index marks with washable marker on the coin and the surface, rotate the coin, shoot several times & stitch? Be an odd photo! Good Luck!
Mar 15, 2021 09:46:50 #
Try indirect lighting - bounce the flashlight off of a white card. Alternatively, use a softbox if you have one.
Mar 15, 2021 12:07:27 #
stevenamills wrote:
I’ve been trying to get a photograph of the complete edge of one of my coins with absolutely no success. I know the classic way is by using the reflector from a flashlight. I picked up a couple at Goodwill and got a decent reflection, but have been totally unable to get any decent lighting.
ANY tips on type of reflector, set up and lighting would be greatly appreciated. Tougher than I would have imagined.
ANY tips on type of reflector, set up and lighting would be greatly appreciated. Tougher than I would have imagined.
I cannot visualize what you are saying. Can you post a photo or two? I collect coins.
Mar 15, 2021 13:12:20 #
If I were to set up a session to photograph the edge of a coin (let's say horizontally) and I wanted to show the most grooves and lands I would diffuse my LED desk lamps with tissue paper such as Kleenex or toilet paper.
Set the coil inline with the lens that you want to use. Set the lamp heads about eight inches to about a foot away. Arrange the tissue so that it is over the top of the coin yet high enough that it is out of view when looking through the lens.
What I would try to simulate is the condition of shooting outdoors on an overcast day with soft even light with no glare nor shadows. Think of the relationship of the sun, the clouds and the earth. The sun is far away with respect to the subject and the clouds are close yet still above the earth by a distance.
Using a macro lens or a means of extending the magnification such as extension tubes or a bellows will produce a much closer detailed view of the coin's edge. Of course the point of view will be sharp and detailed in the center of the image and then detail will start to fall off as the left and right edge turn away from the center along their way around the coin.
Set the coil inline with the lens that you want to use. Set the lamp heads about eight inches to about a foot away. Arrange the tissue so that it is over the top of the coin yet high enough that it is out of view when looking through the lens.
What I would try to simulate is the condition of shooting outdoors on an overcast day with soft even light with no glare nor shadows. Think of the relationship of the sun, the clouds and the earth. The sun is far away with respect to the subject and the clouds are close yet still above the earth by a distance.
Using a macro lens or a means of extending the magnification such as extension tubes or a bellows will produce a much closer detailed view of the coin's edge. Of course the point of view will be sharp and detailed in the center of the image and then detail will start to fall off as the left and right edge turn away from the center along their way around the coin.
Mar 16, 2021 19:09:10 #
As said. You will want a diffused flash, with a means to not blow out the highlights while having a way to absorb some reflected light to give light and dark details. Lots of videos on this. I thought this was pretty good:
https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v11n36a13.html
Photographing the entire 360 of the edge? Never heard of it, but I found the method that you described: https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v11n36a13.html. That's very clever! Anyway, it seems to me that this would still work with a diffused flash.
https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v11n36a13.html
Photographing the entire 360 of the edge? Never heard of it, but I found the method that you described: https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v11n36a13.html. That's very clever! Anyway, it seems to me that this would still work with a diffused flash.
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