Unrealistic vendor photos

[mdb_talon]

So just opened up a vendors sale post here and saw what i consider unrealistic photos. Of course they also "float" on the black background which is another peeve of mine. Of course everyone tries to make their coral look good but this was just one of those that in my opinion is impossible without some ridiculous filters and/or saturation changes, photoshop, etc

Of course this is nothing new and this thread is not to bash the vendor. It got me thinking though how others react when they see something they think looks clearly designed to deceive. For me when i see photos that seem too good to be true I just eliminate that vendor from any future consideration and essentially have my own personal blacklist. Got me curious if others do similar?

 

[Pêcheur]

I’m returning to the hobby after many years away and have noticed a significant number of vendors are doing this sort of thing. Even if they are not altering or photoshopping the images, it would at least be nice to see what the coral looks like in normal lighting.

I like my lights on the whiter side of most people, so I’m afraid I’ll be severely disappointe, to the point of feeling scammed, on anything I buy from places that only show a “highlighted” piece.

 

[Shankpa1]

So just opened up a vendors sale post here and saw what i consider unrealistic photos. Of course they also "float" on the black background which is another peeve of mine. Of course everyone tries to make their coral look good but this was just one of those that in my opinion is impossible without some ridiculous filters and/or saturation changes, photoshop, etc

Of course this is nothing new and this thread is not to bash the vendor. It got me thinking though how others react when they see something they think looks clearly designed to deceive. For me when i see photos that seem too good to be true I just eliminate that vendor from any future consideration and essentially have my own personal blacklist. Got me curious if others do similar?

Yeah, I am now in the retail business, and I too am discouraged by vendors doing this.

 

[Tcook]

Yep. Used to be able to look at the eggcrate to see how photoshopped they were. Enter the black background. Add a few "Holy's", "Moly's" and "Grails" and you have no clue what's going to show up. I like to see the coral in person before I buy.

 

[MaxTremors]

Yep. I won’t buy from an online vendor unless the photos look realistic in at least somewhat white/realistic lighting, they list what lighting it was taken under, and the list the size of the frag (or the frag plug). Also not a big fan of vendors that name every single coral. Like, it’s just a green hammer, it’s not a ‘Radioactive Chernobyl Hammer and Sycle Down with Communism’ (I feel like that how stupid these names are getting).

 

[TheDragonsReef]

Unfortunately there are many that do add filters and photoshop, but its pretty amazing the colors you can bring out with the top leds and the right setup. I find most of the top vendors represent their corals fairly accurately. Not to mention most of their systems are in the perfect shape to bring the most out of these corals. You will be hard pressed to get the same colors especially on acros if you dont have good leds, dose trace elements and have perfect conditions for the coral. Not to mention these corals go through alot of stress being fragged and shipped and will often come in brown and dull or may lose color after being added to the new tank while its adjusting. It takes time for them to color up and look like the mother colony.

 

[Tyler Flynn]

I never buy coral i don’t see in person, the camera never shows the actual colours unless you eliminate all of the blue lights.

 

[Azedenkae]

So just opened up a vendors sale post here and saw what i consider unrealistic photos. Of course they also "float" on the black background which is another peeve of mine. Of course everyone tries to make their coral look good but this was just one of those that in my opinion is impossible without some ridiculous filters and/or saturation changes, photoshop, etc

Of course this is nothing new and this thread is not to bash the vendor. It got me thinking though how others react when they see something they think looks clearly designed to deceive. For me when i see photos that seem too good to be true I just eliminate that vendor from any future consideration and essentially have my own personal blacklist. Got me curious if others do similar?

I just move on to a different vendor. I want to have a good idea of what I would be getting. Cultivated Reef for example, have some good pictures and the corals I receive do resemble what is pictured, so happy to buy from them.

But yeah otherwise I just can't be bothered with the risk.

 

[Pêcheur]

I’d really wish vendors, or anyone selling frags, would include photos of the mother colony as well (if appropriate).