I'm working on creating a store/shop series and I wondered if I could get some feedback on my lighting. The series may feature mulitple shelving units so the lighting needs to be set up right on this single unit before I go any further. I'm using 2 spot lights for the track lights on the shelving unit and a dome light for the room itself. The track lights actually swivel if that helps any.  The camera angle was set this way for setting up the scene itself, it will change later.

Since I've never uploaded an attachment I'm not uploading my screen shots of my settings yet but I do have them if they are needed.

There are a few tweeks I want to do (I think) so any other suggestions are welcome as well; you guys know a heck of a lot more than I do!

Thanks in advance!

Dee aka moonhawk

ah..you put skirting on the walls! excellent. Srry..i once did a bathroom..put no skirting..adn i asked for flak! :-p Since then..I make sure i put skirtings and look at other people's rooms just for that! :biggrin: 

your spot lights are too soft.. right now..it looks rather general lights..nto that it comes out from the two lights that are on the ceiling.. 

make it dramatic..to give it that depth. add in colour to the lghts. .. a bit of yellow, possible. i know lights in stores are boring whites.. hate them. if your shop is an old fashioned one..i'd suggest shadows, yellow lights, lots of depth with shadows and gray areas. 

if it's a modern one.. bah..stark white...brilliant ones.. even in a showcase. diamonds have to sparkle..and the more brilliant the light..the more dramatic it looks. 

cheers

• rosie

 

Thanks for the quick feedback!  And I remember that image and the flak you got; guess why I was careful to add the skirting/baseboards!  (I thought it was a good image myself).

Dee

no probs..anytime.. keep putting up wip on what you do next! 

as for skirtings.. :biggrin: 

cheers

as for skirting....correctly called baseboards here in Canada....I might experiment with volumetric visible lights for the product lights...not overly intense but a light cone would work well I think....

 

Once in a while I look around,
I see a sound
and try to write it down
Sometimes they come out very soft
Tinkling light sound
The Sun comes up again

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever looked at an image so long you totally missed something?  I've had that type of day.   Now the ceiling is higher, the track lights are higher and further away and I made the spotlights narrower.  In the light settings, I changed both the edge and shadow softness and made the light color a very light yellow, just a bit more color than white (#fffcc).  The shelves are also narrower.

I did play with making the light visible but couldn't get a result I liked.

I hope these are improvements and not a total, uh, mess!

Dee

Au Contraire...that works quite wll...I'd be tempted to really soften the edges more

 

Once in a while I look around,
I see a sound
and try to write it down
Sometimes they come out very soft
Tinkling light sound
The Sun comes up again

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks mr. bobbystahr!!  Okay, I softened the edges up just a little and made the light visible.  I'm not sure that is what you meant by volumetric; I've been away from Bryce for over four years and some of the terminology I don't understand anymore.  I turned the second light off; I thought if I can get one of them right, then I can work on moving on to the next step

While I was at it I also lightened the wall colors and changed my 'container' units.  Oh, and the silliness?  That's what happens when I have several days having my eight hours of sleep split into 3 or 4 segments, I get silly, grouchy - or both!

Dee

that looks O K but I think your previous render test is a lot more along the lines of what you're aiming at. As I said, I'd just soften those edges a bit more on those two lights and forget Volumetric/Visible light as it doesn't add to the scene...but it was worth trying

 

Once in a while I look around,
I see a sound
and try to write it down
Sometimes they come out very soft
Tinkling light sound
The Sun comes up again

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, I **think** I've got it this time.  I spent some time wandering around the house looking at shadows (hubby think I'm nuts), then looked at all my renders and the comments/advice.  I decided to keep the walls a little lighter, but did soften the spotlights and the shadows (just a little).  Let me know what you think if you want to.

Thank you SO much for your help!

Dee

Well done...y worked thru it...I think that's very presentable for what you're aiming it at....Keep on Brycing

 

Once in a while I look around,
I see a sound
and try to write it down
Sometimes they come out very soft
Tinkling light sound
The Sun comes up again

 

 

 

 

 

I'm having trouble with the shadows the lights are casting. Softening the edges of the light was a good move but where is that hard edge shadow coming from?  Try this experiment: turn off "cast shadows" on the main room light or soften it even more than the spot lights.  The more distant light would cast a less defined shadow in real world. Remember all of this will lengthen the render times dramatically.  

I suggest turning on the lights one at a time to get the correct effect and shadow then move to the next light.  When you are satisfied, then set them all and render.  Be prepared to sleep all night while it renders.  

If you really want to light the image really well, I'm quite shure you could contact David Brinnen at the DAZ forum and he might even have you send the file to him and he'll really make something spectacular out of it. But then again this might be something you want to do your own personal experimentation on. :-)

Stores sometimes use glass shelves, or Wire mesh, for this reason.

 

or they put little lights under the shelves...