Updated 12-28-2007: How to Light Coins
Update: for some obscure reason I omitted to detail the shooting technique in my initial post. Here it is now, after the original article.
I won’t claim that I have become the master of coin lighting but here’s my take on this subject. Applying some of the Strobist techniques that I’ve been assimilating for such a long time, I came up with this solution. I wouldn’t say it is anything original or out of the ordinary but I kinda like the results even if there are several faults that I can see myself.
So I went ahead and shot these two coins I had lying around: a 1884 Morgan Silver Dollar and a 2000 commemorative dollar.
What’s interesting is that the gold coin, perhaps because it has a darker finish, required me to double the light output of the two flashes, all other things being equal to the first shot.
Here are the setup sketches, one from the top, and the other from the side.
(My drawing skills are eye-watering)
Update: I just realized I didn’t give any explanation for this setup. So here is my reasoning behind all this.
The key here is the very low light coming from the right. Since the coin actually has a 3D texture, which is very shallow, the low light helps create “long” shadows that will enhance the low height of these features. Calling these shadows “long” is a relative term because these ridges and troughs are very tiny. If the light was directed from above, these minuscule features would be all wiped out.
So the shallow light coming from the right side helps create the bright rim and also highlights the embossed features of the coin, on the right side. The far side remains in relative shadow. This helps separate the subject (the coin) from the background.
Looking at the diagrams above, you can see that I used a gobo to block the light from hitting the camera lens directly. I also shot both flashes through very soft diffusers.
For the left side I used another flash fired at only 1/32 power, set at an angle from above the coin. The purpose of the second flash is so that it balances the otherwise darker left side of the coin with some light, bringing out some of the larger features of the coin.
Finally, I also placed a piece of aluminum foil on the left side of the coin, underneath the second flash, so that I could have some of the light from the first flash reflect from it.
I can’t say I’m 100% happy with the result. For one thing, the highlight on the right rim is a tad too bright. For another, even though the coin appears to be evenly lit, the background is not. This is obviously due to the brighter flash on the right, opposite the dimmer one on the left. Thirdly, the golden coin seems pretty badly lit to me. The coin itself isn’t evenly lit and there are some harsh shadows on the right side.
Overall however I believe I’m moving in the right direction. Some improvements would definitely be in order but as a first attempt at lighting coins I am more satisfied than not.
