I do prefer top down pics too but I can also understand the importance of side pics (shows the patter, length, height, etc). One of the reason why I don't like buying corals online is due to the fact that pictures never give a true representation of the coral as a whole. On the other hand, front pics are kind of hard to get. If the lens is not parallel by even a degree with the glass, you get a blurred pic.
I think there's only once way to solve the whole problem. Rotatable 3D image of the coral.
