In Part 3 of our tutorial series, Rob Redman demonstrates how to create your own HDRIs ideal for your 3D scenes

REAL WORLD LIGHTING Using location captured lighting can help even when rendering against a flat backdrop

CINEMA 4D | THETA (FOR IPHONE)| PHOTOSHOP

AUTHOR

Rob Redman Rob has been a CG artist for over 20 years, working across film, TV and print projects, and is editor of 3D World and ImagineFX magazines. robredman.co.uk

These days most 3D software offers global illumination, and while there are plentiful resources for finding good HDRIs to use, they can be a little one-size-fits-all.This isn’t always a problem, and if you are lighting a studio setup or a generic scene you will be fine.

However, you may be trying to match lighting at a location to better match your background plates, ensuring that your CG elements are lit consistently with the talent and set. In this scenario shooting your own HDRIs is a much better solution and doesn’t have to be complex or expensive. There are many ways of capturing these images, ranging from the cheap and easy to the preventatively expensive and complicated.