I posted a link to a tutorial on the first page of this thread. The images you posted are good for ibl but are not what I would call a "light probe".

To create an actual hdri light probe using the mirrored ball you need to take multiple exposures and two different angles of the mirrored ball. Somewhere between 45 and 90 degrees apart.

There are several programs for assembling the multiple exposures into a single hdri. Hdrshop, photomatrix, and photoshop to name a couple. FDR tools is also a good one.

Once you have your two hdri images you can then use hdrshop to rotate one to match the other. You then combine the two with a mask to remove bad sampling and the camera from the resulting image.

Hdri as in .hdr and .exr offer a much higher dynamic range (32 bit) over other image formats. This gives you much better lighting information of the scene.

As you can see, to do it correctly there is a lot more to it than just taking a photo of a mirrored ball.

 

Handle every stressful situation like a dog.

If you can't eat it or play with it,

just pee on it and walk away. :-)

....................................................

I wouldnt have to manage my anger

if people would manage their stupidity......