Vender coral pic vs actual coral

[shoelaceike]

So the mushroom vendor claims that the mushroom may not look like the pic because either the lighting/placement is different or it may take time to color up.....he says under no circumstances are any pics enhanced in any way.

What do you think?

 

[Sabellafella]

Take time to color up? geez. I dont think the image is altered though, by the angle they took the pic, the coral would recieve alot of light opposed to taking a picture directly straight down. Maybe try taking a top down with the shroom closer too the light?

 

[shoelaceike]

Take time to color up? geez. I dont think the image is altered though, by the angle they took the pic, the coral would recieve alot of light opposed to taking a picture directly straight down. Maybe try taking a top down with the shroom closer too the light?

I will try that out.

 

[shoelaceike]

These are the best pics I can get from top down with all flow off. I tried many different spectrum's and these came out the best. Taken using Canon T3i

 

[shoelaceike]

And again here are the vendor pics.

 

[shoelaceike]

I'm not going to name the venders involved here as it looks like all venders enhance the photos.....you have to learn that if something looks too good to be true and doesnt cost $17475728283 then its not true.

If I do make any more online orders with anyone but DD I will be much more weary as should everyone. GL

 

[zoa_addict]

I live only 40 minutes for the divers den facility and even though I haven't been there in the last year on the coral farm tour. The photo tank is lit with metal halides. Not saying they don't adjust color on the computer but they state what lights the photos are taken under. They have been experimenting with different brands of leds on the raceways but the majority is still halides and that's what the photos are taken under. I have seen the fish photo tank but unsure what light they have on that.

 

[shoelaceike]

I live only 40 minutes for the divers den facility and even though I haven't been there in the last year on the coral farm tour. The photo tank is lit with metal halides. Not saying they don't adjust color on the computer but they state what lights the photos are taken under. They have been experimenting with different brands of leds on the raceways but the majority is still halides and that's what the photos are taken under. I have seen the fish photo tank but unsure what light they have on that.

That's pretty cool......I definitely have the best experience with them as far as color accuracy. They are pretty expensive though but 14 day warranty is second to none

 

[MermaidTail]

Have you ordered from @AquaSD? I'm new to the hobby, but my first order from them was OUTSTANDING. And the corals I ordered, once acclimated, look just like the pictures. No complaints whatsoever.

 

[shoelaceike]

Have you ordered from @AquaSD? I'm new to the hobby, but my first order from them was OUTSTANDING. And the corals I ordered, once acclimated, look just like the pictures. No complaints whatsoever.

I have, multiple times. My overall experience so far has been very good.....I often do find the photos to look better than the corals in real life, however the colors are generally spot on and I have yet to find a Reef2Reef vender where this is not the case. They have really cool corals at great prices.....their communication is fantastic and their freebies are seriously awesome.... I've gotten colonies for free.....

 

[Pete polyp]

With photographing corals there's going to be some post processing. The difference is when someone processes the picture beyond an actual depiction of the coral. In have ordered from several vendors before and I have never experienced anything like you have with this hammer. It's obvious the picture they used to sell it is in no way close to an accurate representation of that coral. Normally when I buy coral online they look much better in person than they did in the pictures.

 

[shoelaceike]

With photographing corals there's going to be some post processing. The difference is when someone processes the picture beyond an actual depiction of the coral. In have ordered from several vendors before and I have never experienced anything like you have with this hammer. It's obvious the picture they used to sell it is in no way close to an accurate representation of that coral. Normally when I buy coral online they look much better in person than they did in the pictures.

It's interesting people say that however I never find that to be the case......can you post a situation like this? Your own photo against the venders?

 

[rjl45]

Great discussion and a number of solid points have been made. If I may contribute my 2 cents. I have been taking underwater photographs for over 17 years, shooting all our favorite coral and fish in their natural setting. Been through the transition from film to digital. I have my own aquarium and have witnessed the same issues presented here. The reality is, there are so many variables associated with color and how a person sees color, it can be incredibly difficult, if not impossible to have an exact match. To name a few, some that you may not considered.
1. Each person sees color differently, some are more sensitive to color variation than others. Some specially gifted people can see the spectrum within the spectrum.
2. Quality of glass. Lens of the camera, the aquarium, maybe your eyeglasses.
3. Light source...there are so many variations of light. With led, even within a given "color" Royal Blue is not always the same color. There are variations with the manufacturing process and vendors buy from various "bins". Royal Blue is typically 450-465nm wavelength. A shift in the peak +/- 5nm and most cameras will see the differece. Led have very tight light spetrum, while metal halides really broad spectrum.
4. Angle in which the light is received by your eye or camera. Many corals have an iridescence quality. The angle of light will change the color of those corals.
5. Each camera captures light differently, some significantly different, and variations have become more pronounced in the digital age. Thanks @Sabellafella great example. Also various lens filters can (are) used.
6. Variations with the computer monitor or mobile screen. Was it color calibrated? This can be a compounded effect. The vedor tries to adjust the photo to what he sees, but his monitor is not calibrated, so the colors are wrong. Then you look at the "wrong" color photo on a monitor that is not calibrated, and the image you see is different than the original. This typically won't change yellow to blue, but can make a difference in "eh" to "WOW!"

@jhatfield has it exactly right, if they used a Macbeth color checker this would resolve many of the issues.

IMO the "yellow" hammer photo was taken under extreme violet led lighting, what most led makers call UV light (not true UV, just violet end of the visible spectrum) and possibly with a mix of white and a little blue on to light the coral itself. Notice the dark violet in the corners? Interstingly, the light setting for that photo probably would not look very good for a person looking at the coral, but was great for the camera. For those that take photos of your tank, have you ever noticed the best photos are captured when the lighting is NOT what you normally have it set too? What you see and what the camera sees are two completely different things. Tip: want great photos of your tank, adjust the light for your camera, not what looks good to you. Minor adjustments make huge differences.

Vendors... I do think many "photoshop" their images, however I really don't think they do it with malicious or misleading intent. Most make adjustments trying to represent how great their corals look. They are at a disadvantage because they must rely purely on the photo and not the personalized shopping experience and relationships we have with our LFS. Do some go too far? Absolutely! I agree with @jhatfield that I really like how Tidal Gardens represents their coral under different lighting. I get annoyed with sellers who "blast" their corals with blue and violets and over saturate the photo. But keep in mind, the vendors are very experienced in capturing quality images of their products, otherwise they would go out of business.

Tips to identify color corrected photos:
1. Check for known colors. Most frag plugs should be white. Most egg crates are black. When the plug shows purple or blue, you know the color is shifted toward that end of the color specturm. Copy the image and open in an image editor. Adjust the hue and sturation, and this might give you better sense of what it might look like under different lighting.
2. Look for over saturation. There should be a clean color gradient between color changes and within a color pattern. It should looks smooth and not "blown out".
3. Vibrance is a little harder to identify, but shows signs similar to over saturation
4. Contrast. If highlights and darks seem to be too extreme, they probably are.

When in doubt, ask for more photos. Ask for photos under various lighting configurations and have the vendor place a reference color card or object next to the coral you're interested in. Understand this takes time and effort, and they may not be willing for a $20 frag. But I would never buy a $1000 frag without a library of images and a detailed communication with the Vendor.

Just my 2 cents...I'll step of the soap box now

 

[shoelaceike]

2 cents? That was at least $1 lol.....good points and as I said I don't think these (some) vendors are trying to fool anyone, only presenting their product as best as possible even if the product will not look as great in the aquarium.....

 

[Pete polyp]

It's interesting people say that however I never find that to be the case......can you post a situation like this? Your own photo against the venders?

Heres two examples. I am using a cell phone for my pictures and still can't capture the intensity they have in person

 

[shoelaceike]

Heres two examples. I am using a cell phone for my pictures and still can't capture the intensity they have in person

Those are great....the vendors photos do not look overly saturated at all....

 

[rjl45]

2 cents? That was at least $1 lol.....good points and as I said I don't think these (some) vendors are trying to fool anyone, only presenting their product as best as possible even if the product will not look as great in the aquarium.....

lol can I have 98 cents change? When I started writing, I intended it to be a quick statement... I have always found the variations in light and how we perceive color to be a fascinating topic. Easy for me to get carried away. This is a GREAT thread and hope people read it.

Heres two examples. I am using a cell phone for my pictures and still can't capture the intensity they have in person

Great examples of very close representation. Honestly, I like yours better!

 

[Pete polyp]

I kinda have an eye for looking at pictures of coral and being able to tell what alterations were made to them. I guess you can say I can filter the photoshop by eye to tell what a coral is going to look like when I get it. I'm not 100% accurate but I normally come really close. If I look at the picture and it seems overly edited I probably won't buy them. There's a handful of vendors out there that I trust 100% on their photography and I tend to stick with these guys.

 

[shoelaceike]

Those are great....the vendors photos do not look overly saturated at all....

And beautiful corals....I also like your pics better lol

 

[Pete polyp]

I saved your picture and altered it to what I would think it would look like in person. Using the color of the coralline algae I edited until it seemed reasonable. Am I close?