Help me make the lights more real and dramatic.

xs6q84ade

I am rendering an interior scene using ghost lights (rectangle shaped) to light up the scene. But the renders are so bland and boring. Skin looks plasticy and walls behind are hurting my eyes. Tell me any tips or assets I can use to make the lights more real and dramatic without too much noise. I haven't tried HDRIs that could light the room from outside through the windows. Because I heard they take more time to render than ghost lights. Is that true? If not then pls suggest me some good HDRIs too.

SofaCitizen

Good lighting is hard to get right - it's a skill in it's own right so something that has to be studied and practiced and eventually you get better at. My understanding is that you are somewhat correct that HDRI would take longer to render but that is only because HDRIs have a more complex lighting profile than a ghost light - the basic premise is that adding more light and reflective surfaces will increase the time to render as there is more to calculate, however leaving darker areas will also take longer for iray since iray does love light. So if you are using a single large illuminated area to light a scene then it will be quick but also give a "flat" and less realistic look - because it is less realistic. This is handy to know because there are meny situations where you may want fast and othertimes you may want something else.

I am far from an expert on lighting and still have a lot to learn but since no-one else has chipped in yet I will offer my opinion. My approach would be to start with the story behind the render and let that lead how the scene is lit. For example, as the couple are in what appears to be a living room is the room light on? If so enable the emmisive surface on the bulb/light there - if the environment does not have an option for that you'll have to guess something that looks right. Then, is there maybe some candles in the room that can add an additional source of light from an different angle - or are they watching TV and so there is some coloured lights coming from the scene. Then, assuming it's evening, you can find a HDRI that is set as a street view with street lights and rotate that around a little so that the light from one of those comes in through the window behind the woman's head to illuminate the figures from behind a little.

Obviously there would be differences if this is a day scene but then you would also need to either hide the window (rotate the camera a little) or put an HDRI behind it so that you can see light coming from there since there is so much shadow that it gives the impression that it is very dark outside. Also, it's not light-related but you can pop a pot-plt or something in the corner - nothing to draw attention but just to break up that wall a little and also it would help with the realistic look (IMHO).

In terms of specific HDRIs - again that would depend on where your scene was set. There are plenty fo sale here but you can also check out PolyHaven or HDRIhaven for some free ones to test out.

Hylas

Why are you using ghost lights, as opposed to just lights?

Ghost lights have a tendency to make things look flat and plastic. They used to be a good way to add quick-rendering ambient lighting to interiors, but I'm not even sure that's true anymore since IRAY changed the way ghost lights work a while back. But even before the switch I don't think ghost lights were ever a good way to light your main subjects in a render.

For a shot like this, I'd use Section Nodes to cut away off-panel geometry. Then I'd either apply a dramatic HDRI for easy dramatic results; or for a more realistic look, I'd go with a low-contrast HDRI for ambient lighting and add additional spot and point lights to light your subjects.

Good luck!

Gordig

A scene that's lit flatly and uniformly doesn't look realistic. You need to "sculpt" the light a bit more, create shadows and contrast (also add some DoF, but that's not directly related to lighting.

Richard Haseltine

Ghost Lights are good supplements, to make sure that there is enough light hitting the scene for it to covnerge, but being large they tend to smooth out relief and they don't reflect, so surfaces look matte. Lack of detail from releief and lack of specularity are what makes the scene look flat and dead - as noted, you need to get real lights of some kind to do the main job, then add ghost Lights as needed to deal with awkward areas that need a bit of help.

Rafael

Here is an asset you can use... A reference image. https://duckduckgo.com/?t=h_&q=cinematic+kiss+scene+light&iax=images&ia=images

The fact that you want to "hide" the light using ghosts, means that you are placing the light in front of the camera. This is like firing a flash into the couple... That is not romantic.

Look for a scene you like and imagine where the light is. Do not look for only a 1 click solution.

Look at tutorials like 3-point light for portrait, rim light, etc.

Also, what is your background supposed to be? Is it a museum, what is it about? If the background is not important, reduce the light there, and also, you could make it out of focus.

When looking for reference images do not be distracted by unimportant things. If you loke an actor or actress, do not be distracted by that. Look only for the mood. Looking the thumbnails is enough, so other details do not get your attention.

Yes, area lights take longer to render. Start using only point lights and see the result. Then after the light position is determined, you can change it to an area light and adjust the values.

Gogger

I just recently found these DAZ tutorials on YouTube and am surprised they don't have more views - this guy is pretty awesome and his renders are top-notch!  See if he can help you out.  He has a Scottish accent, but I don't have any issues understanding him. ;)

Here is a tutorial specifically for your question:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIG8vV3p3XE

And here are some for general DAZ Studio use:
https://www.youtube.com/@RaukoDaz3D

I feel like these are GREAT tutorials and would gladly pay for them if they were sold in the DAZ Store.
 

Fishtales

Gogger said:

I just recently found these DAZ tutorials on YouTube and am surprised they don't have more views - this guy is pretty awesome and his renders are top-notch!  See if he can help you out.  He has a Scottish accent, but I don't have any issues understanding him. ;)

Here is a tutorial specifically for your question:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIG8vV3p3XE

And here are some for general DAZ Studio use:
https://www.youtube.com/@RaukoDaz3D

I feel like these are GREAT tutorials and would gladly pay for them if they were sold in the DAZ Store.
 

Doesn't sound Scottish to me, being  Scottish myself, more North of England :) 

Chezjuan

Here is a good tutorial on 3-point lighting by SickleYield. https://www.deviantart.com/sickleyield/journal/Tutorial-Three-Point-Lighting-In-Iray-598282717 

Gogger

Fishtales said:

Gogger said:

I just recently found these DAZ tutorials on YouTube and am surprised they don't have more views - this guy is pretty awesome and his renders are top-notch!  See if he can help you out.  He has a Scottish accent, but I don't have any issues understanding him. ;)

Here is a tutorial specifically for your question:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIG8vV3p3XE

And here are some for general DAZ Studio use:
https://www.youtube.com/@RaukoDaz3D

I feel like these are GREAT tutorials and would gladly pay for them if they were sold in the DAZ Store.
 

Doesn't sound Scottish to me, being  Scottish myself, more North of England :) 

I stand corrected. I spent four years stationed in England, down near London, and only spent a week driving through Scotland. I don't usually have any issues with accents, but I know it breaks some peoples' brains.