Now for a new Poll . . .

[Miss B]

We had a tie for first place in the Poll that closed this afternoon, so now we have a Poll to choose between the two options that came in first place in the initial Poll. Please vote again by choosing one of the two options. The Poll will be open for two days.

 

[kobaltkween]

Just to put the knowledge out there, you should only be struggling with outdoor lighting if you're trying to make it complex, like if you're doing a night scene with man-made or fantastic lighting or adding unrealistic but dramatic bits. In general, all you need is an HDRI, and maybe an infinite (or whatever your software calls it) for the sun or moon. Just make sure to treat any full HDRI image like you would a control map (like bump or normal), because true HDRI are linear, not sRGB.

Many photographers doing outdoor photos don't even use reflectors. I've watched several videos of shoots where they just use natural light.

 

[Hornet3d]

Just to put the knowledge out there, you should only be struggling with outdoor lighting if you're trying to make it complex, like if you're doing a night scene with man-made or fantastic lighting or adding unrealistic but dramatic bits. In general, all you need is an HDRI, and maybe an infinite (or whatever your software calls it) for the sun or moon. Just make sure to treat any full HDRI image like you would a control map (like bump or normal), because true HDRI are linear, not sRGB.

Many photographers doing outdoor photos don't even use reflectors. I've watched several videos of shoots where they just use natural light.

In photography you have to largely make do with the light you have with the exception of adding reflectors and maybe even flash. I have certainly found that since using HDRI I do not have the issues I had with complex lighting set ups.

With photography composition is often a question of getting the best you can dependant on the access and the time available. In 3d art you do not have the limitation of POV or the time restriction which can make it very difficult , there are so many options it can be quite daunting.

 

[kobaltkween]

In 3d art you do not have the limitation of POV or the time restriction which can make it very difficult , there are so many options it can be quite daunting.

Very true. That's why I wanted to point out that in fact you can (and mostly should) ignore almost all of those options when doing outdoor images. Even with indoor scenes, it becomes much simpler if you consider your scene as a real place with real lights.

 

[Hornet3d]

Very true. That's why I wanted to point out that in fact you can (and mostly should) ignore almost all of those options when doing outdoor images. Even with indoor scenes, it becomes much simpler if you consider your scene as a real place with real lights.

Indoor wise I usually use a point or area light placed at the location of light props in the scene.

 

[kobaltkween]

Indoor wise I usually use a point or area light placed at the location of light props in the scene.

Me, too. Or I use emitters.

 

[Hornet3d]

Me, too. Or I use emitters.

Forgot emitters but I use those a lot in my sci-fi renders. I tend to use point lights in my fantasy work as I can position me in a candle flame and area lights where ever there is a light panel in a wall or ceiling.