Saturday, July 4, 2009

Lighting: This Is What I Have Been Looking For


I have been working with my coin photo lighting for months and I am finally satisfied with recent results. Please take a look at the Antonius Pius attached left and see if you agree. If you like what you see, then go back through my blog posts and see if there is a light tent you like.
I have reported more than once that I believe good coin photography is about 98% lighting and the remaining 2% accounts for other factors. I really hope that something I have shared will help you move ahead more rapidly that I have. I built another light tent a few days ago that I like a lot. Perhaps I will share the unit soon.

Let me know what you think of the photo. Perhaps I am being too subjective and perhaps you can share something that will make me a better coin photographer. Thank you for reading and God Bless.. Jerry..


5 comments:

Regan D. said...

Hi Jerry,

Nice to see your coin photos, good details,it makes me curious about the light tent you use.

I was searching your old posts for the light tent, but can't found any clue.
Maybe you can help me by showing me your light tent? Better if you can show me the way to built it also.

I'm interested in historical objects, such as old, rusty cup, plate, etc. and working on my light box now, so I need as many as possible info to build the perfect light box.

Thanks in advance!

Buy silver coins said...

The photo is very good. The details is very visible and thats very important.
Have taken a lot of photos myself but not near this in quality. Have used side light to get the details visible. A good camera is very important too, bought a new camera last year and improved alot with that.

Bill Donovan said...

Great photo. I use my scanner and I am not very happy with the results. I was considering getting a macro lense. Anyways congratulations, this is a very nice photo.

lunaticg said...

Hi!
I am having the same problem. Still searching for a good result with my lighting. This is certainly a great job. All the coin detail can be seen clearly. Can you share how you do this?

Anonymous said...

Hi Jerry,

I agree that the most important part of coin photography is lighting. May I also add that a good solid base for the camera is also mandatory.

Your coin shows really good detail and relief which is what we all strive for. A "flat" image does nothing to convey the true beauty of the coin.

I use a combination of daylight, a side light and fill-in flash. This is not supposed to work, but I have had very good results so far.

Thanks for all the interesting and informative articles. Thank you also for sharing your knowledge.

Best wishes,
Jim