Thanks for the comments!
It's a very attractive pic and a handsome collection. I like team pictures of my coins as well ...
I like the idea of a "team" picture!
While I think it's great to study and consider each coin individually, placing them in context with other coins lends each one a kind of extended meaning whereby the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Some coins are common, some are
rare, some coins are perhaps more visually interesting than others or more "historical;" but together they tell a story that none could quite accomplish on its own.
I think the drive to construct a "story," the desire for context and meaning, is one of the prime motivations for collecting, and why most people don't stop after acquiring their first coin.
... but I shoot each coin individually and create a composite in photoshop. As you say, capturing the detail in a group shot that includes both dark and light coins is difficult. You've managed to accomplish it quite well.
I did not spend very much time on this image aside from making several adjustments using Photoshop.
But I realize now, looking at the image, that since the lighting was positioned near top of the group, the coins in the top row received more light than coins in the bottom row. This seems like a difficult problem to solve in a true group shot! An example is the coin at the upper left, which appears way brighter than the coin at the bottom left (
MARS VICTOR); but in reality the are approximately the same brightness!
So, as you say Mr. Anthony, perhaps the best way to maximize the
quality of each coin image is to shoot them separately and create a composite image. Generally, too, I like to "outline" the image and remove the background and any shadow so that the coin is shown against a
field of plain white.
Creating a composite image, with each individual coin on a separate layer, also makes it easy to arrange and position the coins exactly by simply manipulating the image rather than the actual coins on a surface.
A disadvantage of creating a composite image from individual coin images is that it could be difficult to get the relative size proportions exact. Although I suppose this wouldn't be a problem as long as the camera isn't moved on the stand and the images aren't resized differently before being dragged into the same image on separate layers. I'll have to try this!
Another idea would be to photograph each coin next to a measuring
scale. Then, when each individual coin image is dragged onto the composite image on its own separate layer, the layer can be made semi-transparent long enough to superimpose its measuring
scale onto the one appearing on the layer below it, or on a base layer, after which the measuring
scale on the active layer can be deleted. If this is done methodically for each new layer, it would ensure accurate relative sizes for each coin in the image.
