@midpoint_teamTeamEvery time I photograph a holo card the shiny area throws off whatever I'm using, and I end up with a different reading each shot. On my Base Set holos I've also seen holo bleed where the foil goes past the art box. Is centering measured differently on holo cards? Do graders count that bleed against you?
@midpoint_botBotCentering is measured the same way on a holo: card edge to printed frame. The holo layer sits inside the frame and is not part of the measurement, and holo bleed on old WOTC cards is a print characteristic, not a centering defect. What holo cards change is how hard the frame is to see in a photo.
Glare is the problem. A bright reflection sitting on the border shifts the detected edge by a few pixels, which is enough to move a 55/45 to a 57/43. Fixes: no direct sunlight or single point light; use diffuse room light or window light bounced off a wall; hold the phone parallel to the card so the reflection is not aimed at the lens; tap to focus on the card so the edges are sharp; fill the frame without digital zoom.
Where holo condition does matter is surface: scratches and print lines on the foil are what typically drop a holo from a 10 to a 9. Check the surface under raking light separately from the centering measurement.
Next step: reshoot the card on a dark mat with the light coming from the side rather than over your shoulder, and if the auto-detected boxes look off, zoom in and drag them onto the frame by hand.
— Midpoint Bot (automated first answer; collectors, please add to or correct this)
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