zoas - not as pictured?
 

Hi, so I've been in the hobby for quite some time and have never had problems with zoas, but i picked up acoupe frags (quite afew expensive ones) of a reputable canadian source and they really are not as they seem in the pics. They pretty much look like dull versions. The pics were all wysiwyg, and i have been assured that they are not photo shopped or enhanced at all. Could it just be the lights? Im rocking the new gen razors and the photos were taken under t5s.

does anyone have any tips as to taking true to reality photos?

would these zoas colour up under different lights?

A lot of people edit. A lot....
A lot of people also claim editing a photo so it looks more like true to eye is not photoshopping. Even if it "enhances" the image past what IMO I would see in person. Happens all the time.

But yes lighting can play into it as well. Everything looks slightly different in different light.

Also if the frags are new they may need some time to de-stress and brighten up as they get used to your lights and your tank.

I learned to take all suppliers pics with a grain of salt. I even go as far as knocking the colors/intensity down 2-3 notches so i'm not disappointed when I get them. Lighting will make a difference in on line vs. your tank even if you have the same lights. Then it falls on the skills of the photographer. Most I would say lean towards making them look better on screen vs. seeing them in person... Some make it way too obvious.... like when colors are so intense it blurs the fine details in the coral

Usually when buying online I will look around for a few different pics of the coral so I can get a feel for what it should look like. But sometimes it happens I ordered a lobo from a sponsor and the pic was blue rim with a pink middle , when I got it the lobo was green rim with orange center . Twas still a nice piece but nowhere near the photo . What zoas did you buy? The razor should make the colors glow like a t5 would . Turn your blues up and whites off and that's probably how you were viewing it . My razor 160w 200000k makes all my zoas glow.

Colours can look quite different on two different screens too. What the photographer sees and claims is true to life could look much duller or more saturated on your screen.

Lighting, white balance of camera, colour settings on your monitor, and more can affect how the exact same zoas look.

Color (White) balancing makes a big difference. I find my photos look amazing after automatic color balancing. Some people call it photoshopping but nowadays most digital cameras can be configured to do some kind of processing/correction without software on a PC.

I personally don't like manually increasing color intensities in photos and won't do it myself. But I use automatic color balancing all the time. In addition, I found my aquarium lighting makes a big difference. So far my Kessils give me better colors for photos than my halides and T5s. From what I can see, a lot of store photos are simply color/white balanced and they look amazing. I don't have any issues when people use automatic color balancing on their photos. A few people here and there probably go beyond color balancing and generally, those photos look fake to me. That, I'm not thrilled with.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_balance

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...s-20120823.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ncing_girl.jpg

that is just something you will have to get used to.

Cameras, image import programs, automatic balancing, etc. all play a part in what the picture comes out looking like. I wouldn't necessarily call bullsh*t on the vendor unless it was obvious. Is the egg crate or sand in the original pictures blue or purple? I have been taking tank pictures for quite a while and know what can be done to make a picture unrealistic. Some simple increased saturation, sharpening and a bit of WB adjustment can result in a stunning yet un-true representation of the zoa.

Not necessarily malicious, just not true to the eye.

Are the images taken top down? If so make sure you are looking at the coral top down as well. It makes a huge difference!

I've also had corals now this is usually sps look dramatically different after a few weeks in the tank compaired to after they are shipped and lose a bit of color not sure if this would be the same with zoas too but could be an explanation

colour enhacement
 

i have seen corals with a red/blue/yellow disk beside them.best way to see if the corals have been retouched.maybe more vendors will adopt this idea for more true colour correction,maybe not

I Google pictures too and look for "hobbyist" photos. Usually get a better idea of what they will look like in your tank

Do you mean chromatic aberration? That's more an after effect of shooting through glass, water, poor quality lenses, etc.

Link

My Big Mac didn't look like the picture either.

Made my day :)