Why do people ask for coral pics under "daylight" lighting...and does anyone ACTUALLY use this type

[Marquiseo]

There are still a few of us that run 10k's. Yes we are a underrepresented minority anymore but like has been stated before when someone is going to drop $1-$1000 on a coral any seller worth his/her salt shouldn't have an issue with taking a "daylight" picture. It's really a fairly simple thing to do. And considering certain corals actually look better under a 10k bulb than a 20k don't discount the idea that it's a valid request.

The only corals that look good under 10k spectrum are non-photosynthetic. Any coral that fluoresces looks better under bluer light which makes it pop and even gain additional colors over time.

 

[hybridazn]

There are still a few of us that run 10k's. Yes we are a underrepresented minority anymore but like has been stated before when someone is going to drop $1-$1000 on a coral any seller worth his/her salt shouldn't have an issue with taking a "daylight" picture. It's really a fairly simple thing to do.

I disagree with it being a simple thing to do. I know I'm not the only one who runs 20k radiums and am unwilling to have a 10k mh bulb on hand to fill 1 or 2 persons needs for a shot.

 

[kgk]

I like a ~14k look the best. Pictures taken under 20k tend to look like a blacklight rave to me.
Everyone has a taste I guess.

 

[Mustang Man]

I think you guys are vastly over thinking the "daylight" term, those who are asking for daylight pictures are asking for pictures with some white, most of the corals listed for sale have pictures under 100% blue light with no white lights on at all and very few people keep tanks like this. Also like has been stated it is harder to over saturate the colors of a coral that is under a regular daylight light(mixture of blue and white not only actinics/blues).

 

[brandon429]

i get what you are saying about pic enhancement for the purpose of faster sale

but regarding natural settings, in diving the caymans i never saw anything neon or any blue tint 20 ft to 60
but 100 on down=eerie blue
everything looked daylight and nothing popped like they do in an led tank up top though

on midnight dives it looked like large brain corals and various gorgs with a flashlight on them

 

[fishmommy]

The reason is when you see it in person, your brain auto corrects the white balance. A picture does not, so adjusting to daylight settings in the photo yields a better idea of what it will look like to your eye.

 

[82engineer]

Only non-photos? How about the actual ability to have a yellow coral be yellow instead of green. I'd call that better. And it is simple, no bulb change needed. Simply take a pic using oh my gosh"sunlight" and experiment with having it close to your system so you can get a little blue in it so it won't be yellow. No ones saying unscrew your bulbs and change them. Think simply.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

The reason is when you see it in person, your brain auto corrects the white balance. A picture does not, so adjusting to daylight settings in the photo yields a better idea of what it will look like to your eye.

I think I understand what you mean about the brain adjusting when you actually view a coral while it doesn't make that same adjustment to a photo...but I'm not sure if a "daylight" shot helps with that (since the same issue takes place...just that instead of overly saturated blue color, you get dull washed out color). I think this is why most people attempt to correct the white balance in Photoshop so that the picture looks like what they are seeing. I may be misunderstanding you on some point, so I'd be interested in knowing your take on what it means to take a "daylight" picture. Does that just mean white balancing the picture?

EDIT: I just reread your post, and I think what you're saying is to use the camera's daylight settings (so the camera does the post-processing) instead of correcting white balance from a RAW image in photo editing software. I would think this would give a poorer representation since the photographer (rather than the camera) will have a better grasp on what the coral actually looks like to the naked eye.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Only non-photos? How about the actual ability to have a yellow coral be yellow instead of green. I'd call that better. And it is simple, no bulb change needed. Simply take a pic using oh my gosh"sunlight" and experiment with having it close to your system so you can get a little blue in it so it won't be yellow. No ones saying unscrew your bulbs and change them. Think simply.

Not sure what you mean by " have a yellow coral be yellow instead of green." If no color adjustments are being made to the coral (we're not putting makeup on them), then no one is changing the color of the coral...just representing what it looks like under specific color/lighting spectrums. If a 14k-20k lighting spectrum is what most people are using, then the photographer is being logical in using that spectrum for photography (since that's what most people will see on their tanks).

If you actually keep your tank in sunlight then the request for a photo in sunlight kind of makes sense...but requires removing the frag from the system to be photographed near a window (since most of us don't keep our tanks near windows). You already mentioned that those who keep tanks in this type of lighting are in the vast minority, so perhaps this would be something to be explained in the request ("I actually use 10k lighting, so could you provide me with a picture of the coral under sunlight, so it looks more like what it will in my tank if I buy it?"). If that kind of request were made of me, I'd probably provide the picture in pm since the photo would be irrelevant to most of my potential buyers some it would be an inaccurate representation of what they would see in their tanks...it might even make sense to ask for a photo like that in pm since you realize your request is outside normal tank conditions. Also, this gets difficult for those of us who live up north since we don't see the sun very often for the colder months. Ha!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I think you guys are vastly over thinking the "daylight" term, those who are asking for daylight pictures are asking for pictures with some white, most of the corals listed for sale have pictures under 100% blue light with no white lights on at all and very few people keep tanks like this. Also like has been stated it is harder to over saturate the colors of a coral that is under a regular daylight light(mixture of blue and white not only actinics/blues).

This statement makes sense, except that most of the pics I'm thinking of are taken under 14k or 20k halides (or LED setups made to mimic those bulbs) rather than actinic lighting. I could definitely understand someone asking for a pic with some white in it if the issue were an all actinic shot.

 

[that Reef Guy]

I think you guys are vastly over thinking the "daylight" term, those who are asking for daylight pictures are asking for pictures with some white, most of the corals listed for sale have pictures under 100% blue light with no white lights on at all and very few people keep tanks like this. Also like has been stated it is harder to over saturate the colors of a coral that is under a regular daylight light(mixture of blue and white not only actinics/blues).

I use all blue tanks.

When I see Pictures with White Lights I pass on those Corals as they look very very ugly.

Keep those Blue Pics coming.

 

[wangspeed]

I hate shots with mostly blue light. It is impossible to see the true colors. Even if you color correct later, the edges fringe blue. All you have to do is add some white for a "daylight" shot. Just sit a white LED on top if nothing else.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I hate shots with mostly blue light. It is impossible to see the true colors. Even if you color correct later, the edges fringe blue. All you have to do is add some white for a "daylight" shot. Just sit a white LED on top if nothing else.

So you would say a 14k or 20k photo is a "daylight" shot, right?

 

[Battlecorals]

I think some people just want to sound like they have it all figured out and aren't going to be "fooled" by photoshop. For me a good pic is an accurate pic no matter how the means were met. better be in focus though!

 

[hybridazn]

I think some people just want to sound like they have it all figured out and aren't going to be "fooled" by photoshop. For me a good pic is an accurate pic no matter how the means were met. better be in focus though!

What he said

 

[wangspeed]

So you would say a 14k or 20k photo is a "daylight" shot, right?

Unless it's LEDs. The spike from royal blue LEDs tends to throw CCDs off.

Glad Battlecorals chimed in. One of my favorite vendors. Pics are accurate and represent what you receive.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I think some people just want to sound like they have it all figured out and aren't going to be "fooled" by photoshop. For me a good pic is an accurate pic no matter how the means were met. better be in focus though!

Thanks for weighing in Adam! I agree! :thumb:

 

[Battlecorals]

Thanks for weighing in Adam! I agree! :thumb:

well its a funny thing really and a lot of the mediocre pics out there may have to do more with skill and experience than ill intentions. The more time you spend behind a camera the more you can get them to do what you want. a stroll through my own forum or catalog is proof of that Before i figured out how to make a pic look halfway decent they looked horrible. No matter what i did or however i tried to get them to look better.

here's a couple examples that demonstrate this pretty well. at least in my case.

a milli pack from 2011

Custom pack a few weeks ago. not the greatest pic by far but a much much better representation. If i see a pic like the one above don't even slow down unless i know theres something really really nice in it.

I believe good photography is an online venders best asset

 

[Daniel@R2R]

well its a funny thing really and a lot of the mediocre pics out there may have to do more with skill and experience than ill intentions.

^^^^THIS!! I agree 1000%! It saddens me to see so much skepticism from reefers. I have seen some crappy photography by guys I know were not intentionally misrepresenting their stock (in fact, the corals looked better than their pics made them out to)...I think it's usually just lack of skill/practice and occasionally just sloppiness...but not usually malicious.

The more time you spend behind a camera the more you can get them to do what you want. a stroll through my own forum or catalog is proof of that Before i figured out how to make a pic look halfway decent they looked horrible. No matter what i did or however i tried to get them to look better.

here's a couple examples that demonstrate this pretty well. at least in my case.

a milli pack from 2011

Custom pack a few weeks ago. not the greatest pic by far but a much much better representation. If i see a pic like the one above don't even slow down unless i know theres something really really nice in it.

I believe good photography is an online venders best asset

Your pictures are amazing! I wish you gave coral photography classes! I think lots of people (vendors and hobbyists) would be well served by taking some aquarium photography lessons...I know I need some.

 

[saltyhog]

well its a funny thing really and a lot of the mediocre pics out there may have to do more with skill and experience than ill intentions. The more time you spend behind a camera the more you can get them to do what you want. a stroll through my own forum or catalog is proof of that Before i figured out how to make a pic look halfway decent they looked horrible. No matter what i did or however i tried to get them to look better.

here's a couple examples that demonstrate this pretty well. at least in my case.

a milli pack from 2011

Custom pack a few weeks ago. not the greatest pic by far but a much much better representation. If i see a pic like the one above don't even slow down unless i know theres something really really nice in it.

I believe good photography is an online venders best asset

This is the best example possible of what I do and don't want to see. As Battlecorals said the first pic is not a good representation of what the corals will look like in most peoples tanks, the second is an accurate picture of what the corals will look like under "normal" lighting. Great pictures on your site by the way!

I don't think most people have any problem with 14k to 20k MH lighting, I certainly don't. However I see pictures all the time without a hint of ANY white light. These may put the coral in it's "best light" (pun intended) but it's not helpful to me as a buyer and makes me wonder what the seller is hiding. I pass on those knowing I've probably passed on some really nice corals. Almost everyone has some kind of white light in their tanks just take your pics when they're on.

If you're not trying to sell me the coral, feel free to show me those pretty all blue shots. There are times during the day that's what my tank looks like, just not the majority of the time.