gecko photography

[robin]

do photos of geckos in ads or even in post which seem highly photomanipulated (upping the contast, color, levels, saturation etc.) distract you from viewing or possibly purchasing them?

if so please explain why.

 

[g3ckosr4me]

It deters me because not only do i truly want to know the morph but i also want to know what the gecko looks like...................

 

[Vegas_Eric]

The same goes for me.

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

No, and while it may be an extra step to increase contrast or saturation vs just posting au natural it shows that they are making an effort vs.taking pictures next to a bunch of turds. They could think it looks more professional, who knows--I say to each thier own.

If they wouldn't provide a picture of the gecko in natural lighting then I would be detered. But I don't see the point in writing off someone just because they mess with the pictures because then you could miss out on some really cool geckos.

 

[Allee Toler]

It deters me because not only do i truly want to know the morph but i also want to know what the gecko looks like...................

+1

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

Anyone can use some programs to make a gecko look amazing. I wanna see what it really looks like. If I can tell a picture has been edited I would never purchase from that individual.

 

[Northstar Herp]

I have a problem with this because of all the horror stories I've read about people selling stuff that's not what it was supposed to be. Also, if I thought it was photoshopped, but not labeled that way, that would give me a trust issue.

However, a lot of pics just don't capture the right color of reptiles. So, though I haven't tried it, there may be a point to be made that a little adjustment to the pic could reproduce the actual look of the animal better than an untouched pic. If that could be true, then the pic not accurately representing the animal would be the untouched one. I don't know if this is accurate, maybe some more experienced users can say what they think.

I think to make me feel safe if I was buying a high dollar animal from pics, I would want to see multiple pics in multiple settings, with multiple types of light.

 

[Leo Morpher]

Pics right off the camera never show what the animal reallylooks like. If you look at a leo in the sunlight and then in the living room or a pic right off the camera they are totally different looking.
I think most adjust their pics off the camera to show what the leo really looks like after a shed and in sunlight. OK with me. That shows their true colors.
If you ever buy a leo that looks completely diff from the pic you can always return it.

 

[robin]

Pics right off the camera never show what the animal reallylooks like. If you look at a leo in the sunlight and then in the living room or a pic right off the camera they are totally different looking.
I think most adjust their pics off the camera to show what the leo really looks like after a shed and in sunlight. OK with me. That shows their true colors.
If you ever buy a leo that looks completely diff from the pic you can always return it.

i understand you, completely. i am not talking about tweaking images i am talking about obvious photomanipulating!
also as far as "If you ever buy a leo that looks completely diff from the pic you can always return it." some sellers are not quite as honest or nice as others. so why take the chance ya know?

 

[Kristi23]

If it's really bad photoshopped, then I definitely won't buy from them. For me, I do photshop my pics, but I do it to try to make them look the way the gecko looks. Pics tend to be washed out so I have to bump the contrast a bit. I also sharpen them. Luckily, I've had many people tell me that the geckos look better than the pics when they get them. I'm always worried about that, but I must not over photoshop them.

Buying from a trustworthy breeder should prevent any issues with the geckos not being as advertised.

 

[Brhaco]

Pics right off the camera never show what the animal reallylooks like. If you look at a leo in the sunlight and then in the living room or a pic right off the camera they are totally different looking.
I think most adjust their pics off the camera to show what the leo really looks like after a shed and in sunlight. OK with me. That shows their true colors.
If you ever buy a leo that looks completely diff from the pic you can always return it.

I agree-I almost always have to photmanipulate my pics to some extent in order to honestly represent the animal. I try to do it with the animal right there in my hand, in good lighting, so they match as closely as possible.

You'd be surprised-sometimes it takes quite a lot of "tweaking"!

 

[robin]

I agree-I almost always have to photmanipulate my pics to some extent in order to honestly represent the animal. I try to do it with the animal right there in my hand, in good lighting, so they match as closely as possible.

You'd be surprised-sometimes it takes quite a lot of "tweaking"!

i generally just sharpen it a bit (sometimes), adjust the white levels and possibly up the contrast.

 

[pastelball]

I usually sharpen and do the auto adjust. But, if it doesn't look close to what the gecko looks like I leave it alone.

 

[FloridaNature]

I would say the most honest image will be outdoors in filtered light.

Indoors with fluorescent or tungsten lighting will definitely give a color cast.
Heck, try a indoors picture with & without flash and you will have two different looking leos.

Or if you are serious with pro equipment, shoot indoors with the white balance adjusted to room light & use flash with a diffuser for accurate images & color.
Michael

 

[Chewbecca]

oops, I answered before reading the thread.
I should have voted "Yes, both

Heavily manipulated photos REALLY deter me from buying from AND from viewing in ads AND in photos.

I am understanding that lighting can be bad (experienced that a lot myself), and I understand not every picture is going to be perfect (I've experienced that a lot, too), but when someone tries to OVER-compensate that by bumping contrast so much that the gecko practicially BURNS my eyes when looking at it, that's just bad business, imo.

I'm ok with bumping the contrast. Sometimes under-exposure or washed out pics call for this, but when highlights in pictures are actually burned because the contrast is bumped so high, and there is NO explanation from the photographer/breeder that this was the case with the picture, yes it deters me. It's a mark against their honesty and integrity as a breeder, imo.

Like, with this picture of Pablo, I had to bump the contrast to +20 because I had taken it through the glass of his vivarium, and it caused this milky/gray hue over the picture that only bumping up the contrast fixed.
BUT, having said that, he really DOES look like this when he's fired up at night.

 

[Chewbecca]

And furthermore, I don't even mind if people dodge/burn eyes to bring out the TRUE look of the eye, but honestly, I can tell when people have added actual COLOR to the gecko's eye.
And that, THAT irritates me because it's so obvious, and yes, I've seen it done here before.
THAT is falsely advertising a gecko.
And the thing is, when I've seen photos of geckos with eye color ADDED, it wasn't even a picture that was under or over exposed.
The person just did it to make the gecko look cooler. it was unnecessary, and that ticks me off.
Yes, I passionately HATE when people manipulate the eye color of a gecko to a point where it's OBVIOUS.
Because I work hard to get the pictures I get of my geckos. And I may at times dodge the eye color (lighten the eye up) because the eye color doesn't show up correctly in the pic, but I do not add color to them.

Sorry, I know I rambled, but it's a HUGE pet peeve of mine.

 

[robin]

:thumbsup:

 

[Lizard Lair]

Another problem with photo accuracy is various computer screens look very different. I have my gecko right next to my computer when working on it's picture for adding to my website. When I get it to look exactly like the gecko in hand I'm happy and add it to my website. BUT. Then I view it on a different computer and it is faded, not as bright. But by enhancing the photo until it is better than real life in order to make it look accurate on the different computer I run the risk of some people viewing an over-enhanced gecko, which I won't do. Knowing these problems makes it difficult to get accuracy when selling, and makes me cautious about the accuracy of pictures of geckos being purchased.

 

[Chewbecca]

Another problem with photo accuracy is various computer screens look very different. I have my gecko right next to my computer when working on it's picture for adding to my website. When I get it to look exactly like the gecko in hand I'm happy and add it to my website. BUT. Then I view it on a different computer and it is faded, not as bright. But by enhancing the photo until it is better than real life in order to make it look accurate on the different computer I run the risk of some people viewing an over-enhanced gecko, which I won't do. Knowing these problems makes it difficult to get accuracy when selling, and makes me cautious about the accuracy of pictures of geckos being purchased.

This is VERY true.
My monitor is calibrated for digital photography imaging, and a LOT of monitors are NOT.
When I view my pics on my computer, they are exposed correctly.
When I go to my parents' and view my pics on their computer...WOW and EW.
Colors are ALL off.

 

[robin]

my desktop is calibrated dor digital photography but i havent been able to find a way to calibrate the screen on my laptop :/