What is secret of realistic render

[jsruk]

..in studio render. What is the best way to setup the scene for something realistic, which lights, how much lights, lumminous planes, radiosity yes or no??....help help help

[carfreak]

Originally Posted by jsruk

..in studio render. What is the best way to setup the scene for something realistic, which lights, how much lights, lumminous planes, radiosity yes or no??....help help help

GOOD question i would love to know myself.

[Sonnu]

I would not use sky boxes unless absolutely necessary. HDRI reflections are almost always sufficient except for rare cases.

Other things to keep in mind while rendering "realistic" render is to place appropriate lights (omni/directional/target) that match the approximate position of the actual lights in the HDRI image you are using, to generate appropriate shadows and diffuse lighting. Specular highlights are only needed when you want to show sunshine or specific light shining on a particular body part. If you want to delve even deeper, you have to play with the attenuation settings to simulate real world lighting conditions.

For example, if your car is standing outside, you will need a skylight for global illumination. Better still an IESunlight will work wonders. If the sun is visible in the background HDRI, you can place an OMNI light with a similar color with pecular only component, because the diffuse lighting will be provided by Skylight/IES. Same goes for other light sources in the HDRI background... the difference being the type of light, intensity, color and attenuation.

If you don't understand any part, ask away and I will try my best to explain in detail.

Regards,
Sonnu.