lighting effect on coral images

I am curious about all the pretty pictures you see on sites selling coral. It seem that they all take photos with 20k lighting. How will these corals look at home under 14K or 10K? Will they look like you were beer goggling? Or will they be pretty similar in color, just not as florescent?

Not sure if this should have been in lighting or newbie.

 

The lower Kelvin temperatures will show less florescence in the coral(s). These lower temperatures promote higher growth rate, but won't have as prominent, colorful coral pigments as you will with the 20,000ks.

Now with, say, a 14000k, you would probably be about mid range. I would think of this as a great bulb if you want a mix of good color, as well as growth.

I like the boxer in your avatar, BTW.

 

Could be under lighting or corals..either way.. And to answer your question. Yes they will look different. The difference in lighting is pretty significant. The higher the K rating the bighter your corals will look(in a nutshell) but you dont want to go all acitinics..some daylight is needed. Check out these links..they should help you..im in the process of writing up an article now so give me alittle to finish it and im sure itll help.

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Not my links btw

 

Not to throw a wrench in this, but as a professional photographer, it is fairly easy to change the white balance of a photo rendering very different temperatures to suit the photographer. Shooting in RAW format makes this really easy. I use RAW exclusively on every shoot I do and I can change color temperature, tint, etc with simple photo editing programs.

 

Yes, this is true. That is the best way to do it if you want to edit a photo. This is how I take my photos as well. Let's hope that's not happening with the retailers.

 

Short answer, is it depends. Some sites put up more saturated and edited photos than others. If so, the coral will look very different and sometimes completely different, trust me, I've had first hand experience. Other sites have fairly accurate pics. But in general, your lighting will dictate how the coral will look in your tank. Think of the pics on the site as the best the coral can look and be aware that it can and will change color in your tank depending on your lighting setup.

 

That is kindof what I was thinking. Is the main difference in florescence or does the lighting really affect color as well? I am fine if there is a difference as long as I am knowing what to expect.

I have a pc that has 2 bulbs, both are 50/50 daylight/actinic mix and then a 150W 14k MH pendant. I think I will be happy with those lights.

The boxer is Tabasco. He has a bit more salt/pepper in the face these days. He's my boy. Such a lover. Best part about him is if I want to sleep in til 9 or 10 he is all over it. If I want to go for a 15 mile hike, he is all over it.

 

One more question, if I am interested in purchasing coral from a given on line store, are they willing to take photos in other light scenarios? Or if you contact them are they pretty willing to give a description of what the coral might look like in other lighting?

Could be kindof a big deal if you are purchasing some zoas as $60/polp or other high priced corals. I don't really plan on doing that off the bat, but still would like to avoid brown corals.

 

IMO, corals look better under 20K. Most people running 10K don't really get into the extremely exotic corals because that lighting does not show off the best features of the corals. If you want corals to look like the pretty pictures, you need to first provide the same conditions. That means blue light.