I have Poser 8. I've been using it off and on for the past year or two. Lighting and shadows is always the biggest challenge for me. 

A few of the scenes I'm currently working on are in dark or totally dark environments with only a candle or a light bulb as the only source of light and of course I have the action scenes and some portrait. Dramatic scenes is what I like with light that conveys the intensity.

What I'm getting at is that I need the best light set out there that can get me the results I want in the least amount of time. I'm sure some will want to say: "the best light set is the one you create, so take the time and learn it." Thank you, but what I'd really like is a light set to help me out. It would save me a lot of time, so I'm hoping one (or two or three?) can help me out in this area.

So... what is the best light set out there (if there is one that stands out and above the rest) given my version of Poser (8) and that I buy stuff that saves me time and gives the great result I want (skin that looks real) rather than make it myself?

Thank you.

Michael

some lights in the rmp- haven't tried them though.

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/search.php?criteria=lights&adv_search=

p8 had new light properties.  hmm, it's hard to find p8 lightsets

Is there any light sets specifically for Poser 8? If there are I would think RDNA or the MP may have em. I'm not aware of any specifically tho. I make my own.

Laurie

I don't know if there's a best one out there, to many subjectives for that to be the case.

I can say that I've been very happy with Colm's IDL Studio Bundle, Noir- EXP1- EXP2, it's a little on the pricey side but has been very useful for me.
His Beautiful Nudes set is, IMO, useful while, at the same time, a good study in lighting and worth the time to reverse engineer many parts of it. They're at RDNA, for P8 and above.

What I would like is for a light set to give me dramatic lighting where darker shadows across a face contrast with light from a source or show me what the lighting is on a subject before I apply it.

bevans84, does Colm's give you a 'set' where you can see a preview of the lighting applied?

Synthetic's "Pro Luma 2" and "Pro Luma - Up Close" here at the MP are streets ahead of anything else.

And just why do you say that, Paul? What makes it better than the rest? The price is attractive, I'll say that. And why would I need Pro Luma if I get Pro Luma 2?

Here's one of mine where the lighting started out as one of his Beautiful Nudes light sets. Those particular sets are set up for particular poses.
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=2331108

You can go to RDNA's store and look under Colm under the vendors, I believe he's the first one.

Most of his stuff is good, I don't personally care much for the GI Studio or the IDL Lighting Rig, but that's mainly because I don't care for using light emitting objects for the main lighting.
My opinion is that good lighting can make a mediocre render look very nice.

There is not best lights set.

First a lot of light set are crappy.

Second, lightning depends of your scene.

Quote - And just why do you say that, Paul? What makes it better than the rest? The price is attractive, I'll say that. And why would I need Pro Luma if I get Pro Luma 2?

The general concept of having light gels, or masks, which most Poser light sets seems to ignore, plus the varying colour balances, the pre-sets which include lights with different amounts of falloff that I personally haven't seen anywhere else.  They really work stright out of the box, which is a big attraction, but for me the main benefit is that they demonstrate before your very eyes what you can achieve with lights.  Added to that is the fact that they come with, hands-down, the best guide (in PDF format) to Poser lighting I personally have ever seen (been using Poser since 1997), and which IMHO should be included in the Poser manual.  I don't know the ins and outs of Pro Luma v Pro Luma 2, though.  The "Close-Up" add-on really refines the original set though. 

I can't scientifically quantify why Synthetic's lighting sets are better than the rest; if it helps, I have many many light sets, and his are the ones I always use as a starting point for my own lights and which really opened up the mysteries of Poser lighting for me...!

Quote - Synthetic's "Pro Luma 2" and "Pro Luma - Up Close" here at the MP are streets ahead of anything else.

For dramatic renders -- Absolutely. I love them.

I use them with PP2012, as well, and they hold up under gamma correction and work quite well with IDL, though the results are not the same, they are still very good.

ETA: The close up lights are quite different, with gels and effects pointing specifically at the face.  I often find just buying a product like this and looking at how the effects are created is almost like its own tutorial.  Worth it to me, at any rate, for the times I'm feeling lazy and when I'm interested in learning.

I also really like Blackhearted's ProStudio, although with IDL in PP2012, I often add a specular light.

I have a bunch of the IDL studio and Render Studio lights for RDNA, too.

My defaults lights are a set of BB's VSS indoor lights that he released a while ago, tweaked to reduce intensity. 

I rarely render with canned lights straight out of the box. But when I am rendering a scene that does not have an obvious light source (who knows or cares where the lamps are if they're not visible in the scene?), it saves me a huge amount of effort to have a starting point.

A while it's true that the scene should dictate the lighting, I often don't know exactly what sort of light I want, until I've tried a few different options and seen the effects.

Paul Francis, does ProLuma work in Poser 8? It says both ProLuma Upclose and ProLuma 2 are for Poser 7 and Poser Pro, so I'm wondering if anybody's tried them in Poser 8?

Have you looked at the IDL option using BB's Envdome? It really simplifies things, and it's free.

Thanks basicwiz, but I what I'm not wanting to set and position lights from scratch, that is why I'm looking at various light sets that give me the look I'm after and once applied, I just need to tweak.

So my question is does the ProLuma series work with Poser 8?

Quote - Paul Francis, does ProLuma work in Poser 8? It says both ProLuma Upclose and ProLuma 2 are for Poser 7 and Poser Pro, so I'm wondering if anybody's tried them in Poser 8?

I don't know - I have used it with Poser 7, Poser Pro, Poser 2010 and Pro 2012, so I would be surprised if it didn't.  I guess if you sitemailed Synthetic he'd be able to advise - he's a good guy.  Busy preparing a new product, I beleive....!

Hope everyone is great.  

Thank you to Paul and others who have gone on about our Proluma II and ProStudio lights...It really makes me happy to see our stuff being used and enjoyed by so many artists.  Thanks!

• Both products should work fabulously well in ALL the newer versions of Poser.  You shouldn't have any problems there...and if you do, I am always glad to give a full refund.  (never had the need to date)
• ProStudio is has a bit more of an emphasis on point-lights with a resulting "portrait" kindof feel.
• ProLuma II has a more diffuse, even feel to it.  
• ProLuma II is a bit more "instant" because it uses more infinites and spots--just load and render.  Whereas ProStudio or Up Close require just a wee bit more customizing of the point sources for each character pose you might use.  On the other hand, the latter 2 can deliver a much more dramatic look and so are sometimes worth the effort.
• All of the above products render fairly rapidly and do not use IDL.  They are IBL-based.
• I have several new products in the works, which I expect to release before year's end.  These combine IDL w/ SSS effects to deliver a 3rd new type of lighting which is spectacular and gorgeous.  It is a bit slower to render, but worth the wait.  I've worked for a long time on these lights and they are some of my best work to date.
• For best results, you will probably still want to own some of the IBL-based sets as well.
• If people want, I will be glad to create more variants in the ProLuma series.  Let me hear what you want!  I could also be persuaded to put a detailed tutorial up in my store.

Thanks to everyone for your support and making our lights some of the most popular out there.  That is a really great feeling!

The best light set?
None.

For outside renders in Poser 8 and IDL render settings, use bb's free Env dome or sphere and ONE single infinite light at reduced settings.

There is only one sun out there.

For inside renders?
Take a look in your own room and reproduce.

Never-ever use a pré build light set.
Most if not all are total gar**** and ONLY work in the Poser version, and in the particular scene  they where made for.

Since IDL started with Poser8, all older light sets are for the trash can.

Quote - The best light set?
None.

For outside renders in Poser 8 and IDL render settings, use bb's free Env dome or sphere and ONE single infinite light at reduced settings.

There is only one sun out there.

For inside renders?
Take a look in your own room and reproduce.

Never-ever use a pré build light set.
Most if not all are total gar**** and ONLY work in the Poser version, and in the particular scene  they where made for.

Since IDL started with Poser8, all older light sets are for the trash can.

Not everyone is going for photorealism. And there may be five suns in a sci-fi render. So your rule isn't universal.

Not all renders are in "rooms". In fact, most probably are not. That's the purpose of gels: to give the impression of light interacting with geometry that doesn't exist. You don't necessarily know where the "lights" are until you see how they look on your character.

Most light sets are garbage. I'll concede that you're right about that. But not all are.

Synthetic, I definitely look forward to new light sets from you, particularly if you make some with IDL, SSS, and GC in mind.