Effect of Lighting on coin pics!!!

[jfines69]

This is a 1960D RPM I have spent a while trying to figure out... I wanted to show how a difference in lighting affects how the coin appears... I did a direct lite and an indirect lite image... I included pointers to the markers so you can see it is the same coin... Notice how flat the MM looks with the direct lite and the RPM is barely visible... When I took my images with indirect lite nearly the entire RPM is visible... I am no photographer by any means... I use a halogen lite source with a dual fiber optic goose neck... The lite is adjustable from off to 150 watts... The indirect lite is reflected back to the coin using a piece of white printer paper... Hope this helps folks a little!!!

[VAB2013]

Very nice images Jim and I am trying to understand the differences in your light set up between direct and indirect. Is the only difference the white paper reflector?

[jfines69]

Very nice images Jim and I am trying to understand the differences in your light set up between direct and indirect. Is the only difference the white paper reflector?

The paper is only part of the difference... Direct lighting is the lite shining directly on to the coin... Indirect is the light shining onto the paper which is reflected back to the coin!!!

[VAB2013]

Okay thank you Jim! Well, the indirect light wins heads up! Curious tho... where do you put the paper? Is it taped on the light somehow?

[jfines69]

Okay thank you Jim! Well, the indirect light wins heads up! Curious tho... where do you put the paper? Is it taped on the light somehow?

A cut a hole in the paper for the size of my cameras lens and placed it between the lens and bellows then screwed the lens back on... It moves back and forth with the lens!!!

[ray_parkhurst]

A cut a hole in the paper for the size of my cameras lens and placed it between the lens and bellows then screwed the lens back on... It moves back and forth with the lens!!!

From your description, it sounds something like this:

[VAB2013]

Okay thank you Jim and Ray for this explanation! Pretty cool! It really helps diffuse the light on your particular set up and something similar would surely help on other set ups as well!

[jfines69]

That's it Ray... Yours looks a lot better than mine