Problems with pictures on vendors sites

J

JasonJones

Premium Member
I was looking at a picture on a vendors site and you can tell that the color is way off on one of their pictures, the eggcrate is blue. So I played in photoshop with a couple of the auto correcting features and it is markably different. I was just curious to see what you guys thoughts were on this. The top left picture is the one from the website, the others are auto corrected photos. What is the real color?
 
This seems like a game.

Okay, how about upper right?
 
I agree with patteto.

Here is the problem I have with all of this. If I am buying that coral, I expect it to look like the picture that is shown, and I believe I would be greatly disappointed if it did not look like the original picture. The pics don?t look that bad scaled down like I have them, but when they are big, the color corrected pictures look ok, not great like theirs does. This brings to mind for me the ethical business practice of the vendor, I have no experience buying from this vendor- so my opinion is based solely on this picture and a number of others like this I have seen on their page.

To me, this picture represents one of two things: they either have no Photoshop skills to color correct or they are trying to deceive the customers. If it is the former, then they do not need to be in the business of selling corals on the internet, but it is a somewhat dismissible offense. If it is the latter, then that is a far graver offense in my opinion.

While it might seem trivial to some, seeing errors like this, to me, begs the question of what other things is this company doing? If they can not accurately display their inventory, are they accurately portraying their facilities, their maintenance practices, their quarantine practices, and a plethora of other "relevant to the customer" types of information?

I could be completely off base here and perhaps because of the camera, they had to tint the picture that blue to get the true color, but who knows. I would like to give every company the benefit of the doubt, but when my hard earned money goes to purchase something, I need something more than the benefit of the doubt.
 
I would say they are all correct. The upper left is 20k lighting with actinic supplementation.

Upper right will be pure 10k with no supplementation

Bottom left 10k with actinics

bottom right 14k or so

:lol:

In my task I think bottom left is probably roughly correct!

This is always a problem. The pictures are usually taken under drastically different lighting conditions then most people have in their tank! I wholeheartedly agree with you that it's unethical. Everything looks nice and blue/purple under 20k and actinics. I can't say I blame them though. I don't think there is any malice here they just run lighting that makes the corals look the best. That is why I tend to do as you and correct until the eggcrate looks whie so I have some idea of what it will look like in my tank!
 
Picture is not the problem here.

If that's a problem, we encounter the same with corals we buy from LFS. To enhance the appearance, LFS tend to use 20K. When the corals are brought home under a mix of 20K and 10K, they look very different from what I see in the store. But since most what I keep are sps - most change to brighter color over time and still look good under 10K.
 
I think one of the keys when dealing with photos of corals on various vendor sights is if they disclose what lighting they are using. If you know they are shooting the pictures under 20k lighting and you have 10k, the coral will look different when you bring it home.

If they are not disclosing the lighting and everything in the pics looks purplish, then I assume it is 20K lighting and expec the colors to be different in my tank.
 
How about naming the vendor :)

I would think the top right pic is most realistic. Even under 20ks egg crate is still pretty white.
 
I think the true color is the upper right as well. What was the original pict. the one on the upper left? I think they photoshop as well. Even under actinics and 20ks eggcrate looks white to me. I have never taken a picture of it though, so maybe the camera adds a blu hue. I know some of the online vendors photoshop. Look at this picture from one of my fav. online vendors. When youget this coral it will look like this. Notice the eggcrate is white in his picture.
 
The picture is from Phishy Business. I have no problem with them taking pictures under 20k, in fact I think they would be stupid not to, we all know they look the best under 20k. When things like egg crate start looking blue, then you know that the coral is no where near the true color, and that is when I believe it is deceitful. I know corals change color in every tank, but I want to know what the true color of the coral is when I buy it. I don?t think buying a coral from an online vendor should be like gambling.
 
Well I was reading your article and I think that you really have to pay attention to what lighting the corals are under when the photo's were taken. I believe Phishy business uses 400 watt 20K Radium metal halides on the SPS's according to their website.

The sps that you showed, I was contiplating to buy, because I knew it would look allot different in my aquarium. What I think I have noticed on this website, is that some times he overshadows his coral when he takes the pictures from above....this leaves a shadow layer over the coral giving it a darker look, this can also be accploshed by the angle of the lense.

Well I will have to say that I have ordered from them and I was very satisfied. The owner is very nice and will talk to you about any questions you have. Heck I'm sure he will take another pic for you. Most of the corals on his sight look better in your aquarium when you get it home. I liked the customer service phishy buisness gives and will continue to purchase corals from them.

Just to give you a comparison between the lighting... The red blasto's under his 20k you can see on his website. I purchased some and have them under 10K with actinics and this is what they look like.

I really like the idea you have with the photoshop, I didn't think of that. I would have bought the coral I'm sure. Its very pretty. Any way I like phishy business and I'm sure you will too. They have a unique shipping method and the corals will begin to come out within hours of placing them into your tank. i would give them a call if you have concerns about the corals and Serdar will make it right for you.
 
Jason,

I personally know the vendor and Serdar is a good, honest guy. I've seen the stuff that he has and it is unreal!

Peter has ordered and from him and from what he has told me, he has always been happy with what he has gotten. (ask him, I'm not putting words in his mouth) His service is top notch and you shouldn't be sorry with the coral you get.

I still don't know what methods he uses to take pictures, but I do know that he grows under 10K and "colors up" the corals under 20's. He takes the picture, and I believe discloses that the corals are under 20K bulbs. I HIGHLY doubt that he has "photoshopped" the coral to make it more marketable.
 
I have bought a few pieces from them also. In fact he emails me every Sunday when he gets new stuff in. The corals I bought were nice pieces, but they did look a lot different from the colors on his website. He does sell some very nice stuff and I do not think anyone would be unhappy with the coral you bought. I do have 500 watts of actinic and 500 watts of 20ks, along with my 10ks and the color I get is a lot diffrent from his site. I do have a problem with people taking pictures of sps under 20k Radiums. The colors are unrealistic, since I do not know anyone that keeps sps under solely 20k lighting. When I start seeing the eggcrate looking blue, I do have to wonder how that happened.
 
I was not trying to bash the vendor at all, that is why I didnt mention his name for my first couple posts. I have never done business with them, and have only heard good things. I was simply trying to point out that I dont always think pictures are great reflections of the corals that vendors are selling. I think everyone should be aware of the possibilities that could go on with an online vendor. I know at times when I have bought things from other vendors, I truly felt like I was gambling. Once again, I do not discourage anyone from using Phissy Business because I have heard a lot of great things about them, I just simply found that picture that looked a little less realistic then it should have in my opinion.
 
Phishybusiness is one of the few online vendors where actual corals look so much nicer in person than the photo posted. I would highly recommend Phishybusiness.
 
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