Off of one of the adverts here was this guy selling a tutorial "Light Master" along with a freebie Dreamlight city section model.  The tutorial is a bunch of vids for $23.50. It's not specific to Poser, 3D lighting in general.

Is it worth it?  I can post a link if it's OK, I'm not sure if doing so is so no link for now.

For Poser and the like, I'm not very keen on the idea that purchased tutorials offer anything more than the free tutorials you can find scattered around the net. That doesn't mean that the creators of these tutorials don't have something valuable to say nor does it mean that they're products are never worth buying.

But, a bit of diligence and perseverence can net you a lot of free knowledge, if you're willing to put the effort into it.

As far as a general lighting tutorial for 3D goes, I wouldn't waste money on it. Every 3D application is different and comes with many different tools in order to generate renders. While the basics are universal, the specifics are what's important in order to accomplish your goal. You can learn the basics of 3D lighting for free, just by searching for free tutorials. When you're ready for specifics regarding your application of choice, that's when you have to weigh the value of your time versus the money spent.

Note: If you are not at all yet familiar with 3D lighting, rendering, basic materials and the like, then you may find some time-saving value in such a basic tutorial. But, if you spend a bit of time, you'd probably find the same sort of knowledge and tutorials for free, though maybe less professionally presented.

I agree, I would look at free tutorials, then if you still are not "getting it" then perhaps its time to pay for something.  There are so many people to help, and lighting is one of the most common things to talk about.  Also, by asking and learning, others can learn from your mistakes and knowledge.  :)

I am sure the products themselves are probably OK, though, as those have been around for some time.  The bad ones don't last.

EDIT: Also, your lighting looks good in your gallery

Thanks 3doutlaw! 

Credit for lighting goes to all forum members here. 

Initially my renders were total crap, and posted here asking why.  Of course a number let me know my lighting was crap, and that it is critical for good renders. From there I took info in the post, and what free tutorials I found online to get where I am now.  There is quite a bit of good info out there, but I could always learn more.

Quote - Off of one of the adverts here was this guy selling a tutorial "Light Master"... Is it worth it?

In a word, no.

The "Light Master" course was created by a company called Dream-Light, which is really just one guy named Waldemar Belwon.  He creates light sets for DAZ 3D.

In June, 2011, Rendo was offering 15% off of Light Master.  The ad claimed that the lessons taught could be applied to any 3D app, not just DAZ Studio or Poser.  Dream-Light sent me a free e-Book that discussed 5 steps to stunning 3D lighting.  It touched on a lot of issues I was struggling with at the time, so I signed up for the course.

Here's what I got for $168 with my Rendo coupon:

• $397 worth of training via 27 videos 
• $249 worth of access to the Dreamlight Club for one year
• $200 worth of access to Live Group Coaching for one year

The videos proved surprisingly informative.  Of the handful I remember watching, he used a virtual whiteboard to sketch out various points of theory behind different lighting techniques.  He used Lightwave to demonstrate them, and DAZ to render a sample scene he had already set up using its built-in lights. As I watched, I found myself thinking of ways I could put those same techniques to use in Poser.  I watched one Live Group Coaching session which I enjoyed, but didn't participate in.  I never took advantage of my Dreamlight Club membership.

The following Christmas, on the advice of another artist, I picked up a book that has a wealth of information and insight that far* *exceeds any topic covered by Dream-Light:

Digital Lighting & Rendering (2nd Edition) by Jeremy Birns, a Lighting and Technical Director for Pixar.

In retrospect, I wish I had known about that book before I'd ever heard of Dream-Light.  Their "Light Master" course is a massive rip-off by comparison.

Quote - > Quote - Off of one of the adverts here was this guy selling a tutorial "Light Master"... Is it worth it?

In a word, no.

Here's what I got for $168 with my Rendo coupon:

• $397 worth of training via 27 videos 
• $249 worth of access to the Dreamlight Club for one year
• $200 worth of access to Live Group Coaching for one year

Wow, $168 is a lot more.  This is $23.50.  I'm not sure about how many videos, it says 10 hours.

Exactly as you said, they touch on the fact that I feel like I understand the basics, but could still learn a great deal about lighting.  Would you say it's worth it for $23.50?

I can afirm - If you only ever, ever make one book purchase, make sure it's "Digital Lighting & Rendering". I got mine when it was first released, and the info in there is as relevant today, as it was back then. It is THE Bible of 3D lighting techniques...ANYWHERE!

Quote -
Wow, $168 is a lot more.  This is $23.50.  I'm not sure about how many videos, it says 10 hours.

According to Dream-Light's web site, the course alone is $47.  Based on your quote, it sounds like Rendo is currently offering half off.

Those 10 hours are covered in the 27 videos I mentioned.

Quote - Would you say it's worth it for $23.50?

No.

You would be much better off, and doing yourself a huge favor spending an extra $40 on the book.  The book is $65 on Amazon.com, or $40 if you have Amazone Prime.

I also have the Digital Lighting and rendering book, have had it for several years. I would read as much as you can on photography and photography lighting setups. A solid knowlege in this area will serve you well. There are several books on Photoshop and photography as well

You get my vote on the book also.  A wealth of theory and information.

To be honest, $23.50 doesn't sound to bad and one may well learn quite something from the course(s) that are offered. The only thing I really don't like is the marketing used. My wife and I followed a number of courses where this type of marketing is taught and I do find in somewhat uphauling, hated it and really didn't like what they're teaching. Convince people they need it (if they do or don't doesn't matter), tell them you're the best and the only one that offers this and tell them how much it would normally cost you and how much they save..... while in fact there are many offering the same (some worse, some better), sometimes even for free and it never is worth full price they try to make you believe they should really sell it for. But as for the content, for that amount of money, it's worth trying if you get past all the hype.

Yeah aeilkama, I also don't care for the marketing hype/angle.  I'm not against marketing, just that style.  But anyways, I will probably skip it, and certainly get the Digital Lighting and rendering book at some point in time.  The video format is handy though, I can put them on my phone for watching when I'm killing time.

I also add my vote to the book 'Digital Lighting and Rendering'. Very good, informative book. I still use it for reference.

Regarding the Light Master course. I personally found it useful (but I also got it for about 20 bucks). If I had paid the original full price I would have been very upset.

If the 23.50 offer includes access to the Dreamlight club, then you might want to take advantage of it. There is a lot of information there that goes beyond lighting. There are videos covering postwork, modeling and animation. After I downloaded the Light Master videos I immediately ran over to the Dreamlight Club and grabbed all the videos and ebooks I could lay my virtual hands on.

Just my two cents.

so you can download all these extra video and ebook materials for later use? If that's the case then the $23.50 may indeed be a good deal.

Another vote for the book.  I have read it from cover to cover twice and go back to it for reference.  There is a lot in there so the chances are you will pick up more each time you read or refer to it.

You might want to check out Ironman13's Lighting and Rendering tutorial sold here at Rendo.  It's on sale.

Quote - You might want to check out Ironman13's Lighting and Rendering tutorial sold here at Rendo.  It's on sale.

Now if you want something in video format this one gets my vote.  Nothing like the information in the book but it is useful, up to date info, that is Poser specific.

As I said, Digital Lighting & Rendering is the bible for lighting in the digital world...why go to the messenger when you can go to the source. You can be sure that any educator uses that book as their reference also.

Perhaps it's more a case of many roads leading to Rome and everyone picks the one he or she is comfortable with?

I'm a bit concerned by this whole attitude we see in the poser forum lately, in respect to various topics.... we all need to travel the same road and do the same things and use the same resources, instead of being a bit more open minded and finding what suits us.

The book is awesome, but personally, for various reasons, I prefer videos and I'm sure there are others who are in the same boat as me.

Quote - Perhaps it's more a case of many roads leading to Rome and everyone picks the one he or she is comfortable with?

I'm a bit concerned by this whole attitude we see in the poser forum lately, in respect to various topics.... we all need to travel the same road and do the same things and use the same resources, instead of being a bit more open minded and finding what suits us.

The book is awesome, but personally, for various reasons, I prefer videos and I'm sure there are others who are in the same boat as me.

The lighting book is very good on the theory and does help, the difficulty I had was making that work in Poser.  On the other hand I purchased a number of books on Poser 5 and 6 and again with Poser 8, when I was running those versions, and I found it hard work to learn and apply the techniques.  The same could be said for modelling books.  Then I discovered the Digital Tailor tutorials here and found I learnt form more from watching them than I ever did from the manuals.  I now tend to spend my money of video tutorials instead of books.

I agree, the Digital Tailor tutorials are very good indeed, easy to follow, very clear and somehow the get stuck in the mind.

Quote - I agree, the Digital Tailor tutorials are very good indeed, easy to follow, very clear and somehow the get stuck in the mind.

I passed on it, figuring I'd put that money towards the book recommended above.  Now I wish I bought it, I get emails that it's $47 now.  $23.50 seems a pretty good deal since some of you gained some value from it and the web forum.  Only 60 days access there, but I have a fast internet connection to suck up lots of tutorials and content. 

The marketing is annoying, I get a few emails a day.  I may email him/them, that I'm interested in the original offer of $23.50, and if not take me off the list.

Don't worry it's still $23.50 and may be for a long time, it's a certain marketing technique, so the offer may be indefinite. He uses a number of landing pages (not sure if that's the correct english term for it, I'm translating from dutch) or affiliated to promote and sell the his product. In the end they all sell the same, but the price or special bonusses offered may differ. I'll sent you a sitemail with the link in it.