why cant vendor\members post real pic's

[NYreefNoob]

ive just never understood the purpose of editing a picture of a coral so far out that it looks fake and nothing like it does to the eye, zoa's is one of the biggest one, as someone who has been collecting zoa's and palies for years, i almost have to laugh at some of these photo's. actually it would be theft by deception if selling them lol nothing like seeing a photo of a coral you expect to recieve and then get it and put it in your tank and it looks nothing like the picture. and trust me i do understand light color can make a differance, but not to those extents

 

[jackson6745]

Agreed. The extreme cropping and increased photo saturation keeps me from spending money on expensive, beautiful corals at that particular vendor. I don't want to hear "shipping stress" caused colors to fade lol. I also hate when I go to a vendor or LFS and I have to look at corals under blue LED's. That's just not a true representation.

 

[Mangas50]

Agreed!

 

[E.intheC]

It's the main reason why I don't buy corals online man. No way.

If I'm in the LFS and they have blue LEDs, I just ask them to turn the whites on also. As long as you're cool about it I doubt any store would have a problem with it.

 

[d5332]

while I agree that I have been disppointed with some purchases because my "ligthing is different" then theirs and bla bla bla.

I know of one website that has to be BS, the colors must be photoshop edited

But....

Can you hate a well captured picture, maybe an enhanced picture, not you cant, it's called marketing.

When did a McDonalds burger or an Applebee's burger really come out looking like the commercials and print ads?

Its called marketing NOW, if you are going to charge $200 for a half in frag of something that is misrepresented than that should cause a vendor to be banned or a store not be visited again.

 

[Jakef150]

Yeah i noticed that too..i always use iphone pix it look alrite

I think most important is look at feedback %.

I see some "hot corals" did a good job photoshop to make it wow!

 

[Arati]

This same thing always drives me nuts too. when the white egg crate is as purple or blue as coral. ha ha I always want to PM and ask where they got the purple egg crate

I will admit I wish I could take pictures 1/2 as good as some of the people on MR but ill get it one day ~

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I'm with you Rick, drives me nuts!

Cropping is one thing I'll do if I'm trying to focus on one coral or a part of the coral but messing with color is only done if the pic is off from the actual piece. Make it a point to make white appear as white in my pics (and tanks).

Blue LEDs have gotten so pervasive that a bunch of the wholesalers even use them and you have to go around flipping on lights to see what you're buying.

 

[troywalkerphoto]

Ill be the bad guy. Its marketing. Some ppl are fragging for profit. No there is nothing wrong with that. You spend the time, the money , and care for. That's cool. Everybody wants the next big thing and we all know this hobby is not cheap. BUT...if you are gonna frag in this manner then a true pic is fair. Who wants to shlep around town to find out its not what was promised. Then there is the guilt factor of buying something so the trip is not a complete waste. I always as the seller to camera phone the frag/ specimen as there is a better chance that the image will not be futzed with. That's still hit or miss but it gives you a better point or reference as to if you want to make the trip or if you want to pony up the contribution to the sellers next big push to buy the next must have that pushes them to forget integrity.
Lets face it, its an imperfect situation and the ratings are in some cases only a guide for integrity.
Been lucky and been burned but have learned all the same...

 

[Nottick]

When I sell I take a pic (standard cell no white balance adjust or whatever ) of whites and blues. Ill look just like any other coral in your tank if you use your phone as a reference. Best way I found.

 

[NYreefNoob]

i do understand the wanting your product to look as good as it can, all business's want that, car manufactures, get the best lighting and angle to make a car look better then it does in person, and so forth a bic mac never looks like the one in the commercial.
i can understand focal shooting, and yes most of us cant take that proffesional pic. but to saturate it, adjust colors and cause the items colors to be mis-represented from what it actually looks like, is just wrong
i remember my first time ordering corals online about 7 years ago. i ordered a bunch of zoa's. fortunate i kept the pictures they used to advertise them, well when my 10 frags showed up only two of them resembled the photo's. so i emailed the place and their response to me at first was, well your lighting might be the reason or the way your system is running, well i pressed the issue more with them, sent a list of my complete set-up and photo's, they still stuck by it was wyswyg. so my next email was photo's along side the supposed photo of theirs and showed it wasnt the same and more so not even the not looking like the actual piece you could tell from the plug lol needless to say they did nothing for me and never ordered a coral online since then

basically this thread is a heads up to alot of the new people on here. just dont be surprised if you order something and it doesnt look like what you thought it would, try to buy from local stores and or members, so you can actually see the piece your getting

 

[jf2381]

Because we have allowed it. I remember when no one would buy unless you posted none actinic shots. Now most people will not buy a coral if it is not glowing under LED.
If we want vendors and people to represent the corals the correct way then we have to demand the picture and not make a purchase until it has been provided.

 

[Euroreefer]

+1. Its sad to bring home that nuclear colored coral to find out its really brown under YOUR LIGHT.:shocked: