Hey all,

Anyone know what is the best lighting / render settings to use for a promo? I am guess any that bring out the skin well but is there a good set of lights out there?  

Chances are you'll be best served by making your own lights.  I'd suggest sticking to plain white with Raytraced shadows as a start.  Whether or not you use the latest bells and whistles such as IDL is, I guess up to you.  I have Poser 6 so I can't do that sort of stuff.

Render settings?  The maximum your machine can handle.  Think about it, you want your product to look the best it can, right?  Combining that with white lights should give you a good, clear view of your product and it will be lit in an honest way. 

Do i need talking about lights settings from vendors ?

I agree with sam, lights from vendors are a good piece of s... . Have a look on vss and other topic who BB talk about lightning.

y'know - I first read that as porno lighting.

I'd also agree about learning to make your own lights.  Much more control and you get to decide what things look like rather than someone elses idea of "well lit"

:) Ok make my own lights. Now I just need a damn good lighting tutorial so I can understand lighting in a 3d situation. I guess I should have asked for that instead lol I have a feeling I have one or used to anyway but I never had the patience to read it. Now seems like a pretty good time to start lol 

Disclaimer:  I am no lighting expert but I found a way that works for me. 

With the latest versions of Poser - even from Poser 6 - you don't need a lot of lights to get a well lit render.  Outdoor lights are arguably the easiest to achieve because, in theory, you only have one light source.  That's to say, the sun.

It's never that simple in Poser, though.  In my case I have to use IBL because that's the best option available in P6.  Even so, it's simple enough to use.  I have one main light for the sun, brightness set at around 55% and one IBL with an appropriate image attached to it.  That one is set at around 45%.  Just position the main light where you think the sun would be and away you go.

They're both Infinite lights, btw.  Shadows are set to Raytraced at 90% strength.

I am looking for good tutorials for lighting as well. Any ideas/links?

I've been testing the limits of my computer and I think if I turn the settings up to the maximum it's going to take days to render which is actually not a problem really. I just want to try and see what the results are. Im using Poser 8 btw.. 

Quote - I am looking for good tutorials for lighting as well. Any ideas/links?

[Digital] Lighting and Rendering Vol II by Jeremy Birn - he's the lighting TD at Pixar I think

I can't really afford to get that right now, but I will keep it in mind. What I need are good tutorials that start off with basics and work into a more detailed explination of the lights in poser and what the settings do. In the past I found a forum that had lots of links and information, but I have since lost that bookmark.

A first start is inside Poser.

Goto
Window (top menue)

Quick Start => There are 6 tutorials with videos and they also talk about lights.

Some clear and good information there.

Happy Posering, Tony