Just for fun! Poll: which style of coin presentation do you prefer?

[CPK]

Hey, while I'm figuring out the online collection gallery question, why not a quick poll. 😉

As some of you know I enjoy experimenting with different photo presentations of my coins (see this thread.) I'm a rank amateur compared with many here but it's been a fun side project and I've been generally happy with results.

Most of my presentations have included the coin's information in the image itself, which is handy and convenient for posting, but means that the information is lost for searching purposes. So lately I've been thinking about going to image only for the coins and using a Word document to store all the relevant info. This way I can also store far more information than I could possibly squeeze into an image file.

So here is what I've been messing with lately. I like them all, some better than others but I'm curious what you all think! 🙂

 

1. White Studio

Used before and I thought it worked well.

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2. Marble Tabletop

My current standard composition background

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3. White/sky-blue marble studio

A new one

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4. White marble/black background studio

Another new one

 

I am very interested to hear your thoughts and opinions. Also, any helpful suggestions would be welcome!

[ela126]

2 or 3 simply because there is no background transition occurring behind the coin. All 4 are better than what I’ve ever posted 

[Limes]

I voted for no. 2, because I use the same background image. But its not very popular, lol! 

I also really like no. 4. But maybe that does leave little room for additional information in the picture itself. An extra word document with that info that you can copy/paste from would be a solution indeed. Ive been thinking about that myself. Only thing is, im on my phone most of the time, more then on a laptop. And copy/paste info from a document on the phone isnt very convenient. What do you think, @CPK?

By the way, that coin is fantastic! And the photos too. 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Limes

[Di Nomos]

Well I don't even know how you do it, so they all look amazing to me. But I'm going to vote for number 3. Really like the look of that one. Nice coin too.

Quick edit, on having another look, like number 4 too, I think the coin stands out more on that background. Kept my vote at 3 though.

Edited November 5, 2023 by Di Nomos

[CPK]

Thanks for the votes and feedback!

10 hours ago, ela126 said:

2 or 3 simply because there is no background transition occurring behind the coin. All 4 are better than what I’ve ever posted 

I would never have even thought of that...do you think having the transition distracts too much from the coin? One thing I found is that it's important to not have too interesting/busy a background or the coin starts to get lost in the image.

 

6 hours ago, Limes said:

I voted for no. 2, because I use the same background image. But its not very popular, lol! 

I also really like no. 4. But maybe that does leave little room for additional information in the picture itself. An extra word document with that info that you can copy/paste from would be a solution indeed. Ive been thinking about that myself. Only thing is, im on my phone most of the time, more then on a laptop. And copy/paste info from a document on the phone isnt very convenient. What do you think, @CPK?

By the way, that coin is fantastic! And the photos too. 

Yeah your photo presentations partly inspired my use of that background! 😉 It makes a nice clean but not boring backdrop for the coin. 

For sure, copy/pasting text won't be as convenient whether you're using a phone or desktop. Personally all I ever use is a desktop. But I thought I'd at least give it a try since I think it would be nice in the long run to have my coin's information visible to web searches, so I'm willing to put up with a little inconvenience.

I think, though, that I will continue to create my current photo presentation (using the marble background) with all the info included in the image just for my own use and display. That way when I want to show someone a picture I don't have to also try pulling up a Word document, if that makes sense. It'll be a little more work than just creating one composition, but not much more since using GIMP makes copy/pasting layers so quick and easy.

Thanks for the compliment! That coin is one of my favorites. 😉 

 

3 hours ago, Di Nomos said:

Well I don't even know how you do it, so they all look amazing to me. But I'm going to vote for number 3. Really like the look of that one. Nice coin too.

Quick edit, on having another look, like number 4 too, I think the coin stands out more on that background. Kept my vote at 3 though.

Thanks! I think #4 is one of my favorites too.

[Prieure de Sion]

The choice was easy for me. And there's a reason for that alone. All 4 designs are great in themselves (and I always admire how well you do it).

The only reason why I don't like number 2, 3 or 4 is that I don't like marble. I have a visual aversion to marble. That's why I chose 1. But only because the other numbers have marble in them. I think all four are great in terms of design.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I voted for number one.  My eye is still improving, but the old way (and especially old way of centering the texts) was easier on the eyes.

[Greekcoin21]

How on earth are you able to get such well defined photos.

[ewomack]

"Marble tabletop" appeals the most to me because I think that's how the coin would likely appear if I saw it in person. The shadows and backgrounds of the other formats do look great, I won't deny it, but they seem slightly gimmicky to me. Unless there's something I don't know (always a possibility), were I to actually see these coins, they wouldn't be "floating" in mid-air with small shadows below them. The coins would very likely look more like the simple "marble tabletop" format of #2 and that's how I would prefer to see them online as well. The other formats come across as "a little too much" for me personally. For me, a great photo of the coin itself matters the most, you've definitely accomplished that, but the rest is window dressing.

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

I like the marble tabletop as well. All I do is use a white paper background for my photos, nothing so elegant as what you are doing.

[Qcumbor]

6 hours ago, CPK said:

One thing I found is that it's important to not have too interesting/busy a background or the coin starts to get lost in the image.

Reason why I constantly prefer uniform black background : nothing to distract from the coin itself.
don't get me wrong : your pictures are outstanding, far better than mine, the "floating" aspect is dramatic, your backgrounds are well chosen (#4 is the best of the four IMO), BUT I still prefer uniform black 🙂 

Q

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

7 minutes ago, Qcumbor said:

Reason why I constantly prefer uniform black background : nothing to distract from the coin itself.
don't get me wrong : your pictures are outstanding, far better than mine, the "floating" aspect is dramatic, your backgrounds are well chosen (#4 is the best of the four IMO), BUT I still prefer uniform black 🙂 

Q

Good point!

[Kaleun96]

All really nice as others have said! For me, #1 and #4 have distracting foregrounds, maybe #4 could be cropped to remove the darker bit in the foreground. Then #2 is nice but it seems the intended effect is for the coin to look like it's laying on a marble countertop with some shadows to help it stand-off but the size and distribution of the shadows at the bottom instead make the coin look like it's tilted on the surface, just a bit of a weird visual trick thing going on IMO.

So I would say #3 is my favourite

[CPK]

6 hours ago, Greekcoin21 said:

How on earth are you able to get such well defined photos.

I use a Nikon D3200 DSLR camera with an 18-140mm lens, plus 68mm's worth of extension tubes. I promise, it's not an elaborate setup! 😉 I have a cheap tripod and a remote shutter release and for lighting I use a couple desk lamps with bright daylight-spectrum bulbs, held in various positions until it looks right. 

Auto-focus doesn't work with the extension tubes, so the focusing is all manual...which can take some toying with to get it right. The other downside to using extension tubes is that the depth of focus is very shallow, so high-relief coins like my Alexander tetradrachm are a challenge. But, it's way better than using my old S6 smartphone, which was what I had previously used.

 

2 hours ago, Qcumbor said:

Reason why I constantly prefer uniform black background : nothing to distract from the coin itself.
don't get me wrong : your pictures are outstanding, far better than mine, the "floating" aspect is dramatic, your backgrounds are well chosen (#4 is the best of the four IMO), BUT I still prefer uniform black 🙂 

Q

I respect that, and that's what I did at first. But I guess I like a little bit artistic flavor to my images! 😉 I get a lot of inspiration from @LONGINUS and especially @HipShot Photography for trying to create a dynamic and visually appealing image. But for simplicity and focus on the coin itself, it's hard to beat a solid black background.

 

1 hour ago, Kaleun96 said:

All really nice as others have said! For me, #1 and #4 have distracting foregrounds, maybe #4 could be cropped to remove the darker bit in the foreground. Then #2 is nice but it seems the intended effect is for the coin to look like it's laying on a marble countertop with some shadows to help it stand-off but the size and distribution of the shadows at the bottom instead make the coin look like it's tilted on the surface, just a bit of a weird visual trick thing going on IMO.

So I would say #3 is my favourite

Good points. I may consider cropping the foreground off #1 and #4 and seeing what it looks like. Thanks!

[Hrefn]

I must say they are all wonderful.  There is something distracting about the floating coins versus the marble tabletop view.  However, the floating coins give a greater impression of three-dimensionality, which is a plus.  On balance, no preference.

[DonnaML]

I personally think the floating coins are something of a distraction, and prefer either a plain black background, or a plain white background like the ones I use for the virtual coin trays I occasionally post. (I use the tools at remove.bg.) I'm not sure exactly what makes a white vs. a black background look better to me for certain coins, although in general I think black backgrounds go better with gold or silver than with bronze.

Edited November 5, 2023 by DonnaML

[Phil Anthos]

Yeah, what she said ^ 100%.

I am not a fan of 'glamor photos' for coins as I find it distracting. There is a certain dealer who's father also sells coins who seems to think these artistic images justify doubling the typical price. I'll pass.

~ Peter 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Phil Anthos

[John Conduitt]

I agree that the Shanna Schmidt style for making rich people believe a coin is worth ten times what it should be is a specific taste. I think the best thing about your photos is the sharpness and lighting of the coin itself.

Having said that, the contrast created in photo 4 with the black background broken up with a white fade seems to make the coin stand out nicely.

[DonnaML]

7 minutes ago, Phil Anthos said:

doubling the typical price

Are you sure it's only doubled?

[Phil Anthos]

I was trying to be gracious, but you're right again. Beautiful coins, interesting provenances (provenanii?), but really!  

~ Peter 

[thenickelguy]

I voted for no 1 white/white simply because I tend to focus on the coin by itself. The others draw away my attention,

(and I think it is magical how they seem to float about a quarter inch off the surface.)  

[panzerman]

I like # four!🙂

 

I just use sixbid images/ or my coin flip photos.