kurashi

Quick Tip: Settings for windlight

Today I’d to write about snapshots. I hinted already in the ‘light with photoshop’ (here) quick-tip that the settings in your windlight are important to get a good basis for a screenshot. A screenshot which you can just cut and upload to your blog or to work with it in photoshop for easier time retouching.

-

The Preparation

* Shortcuts to active the advanced menu

Ctrl + Alt + D
or: Ctrl + Alt + Shift + D

 * Advanced Menu > marking: high-res snapshot.

In addition I also had marked: quiet snapshot to disk. This step doesn’t change anything in the picture quality but it disables the screenshot-animation and sound. Now you can create screenshots quietly and discreetly - that might be useful if you shoot on locations. And you can make a secret screenshot of your friends whithout them noticing it. Make them a little happy surprise to send them later your retouched photo later! That can be fun ;).

What does it mean by ‘high-res snapshot’?
It doubles the pixel size of the snapshots saved to disk. More quality for your snapshot.

-

The Windlight Setting

Notice: You don’t need to turn off your facelight. I know there are around some nc’s where ppl tell you, that you have to turn it off - that it’s not necessary. In all the following screenshots I wear my facelight with it on.

Screenshot: The difference between the default setting and the setting for photography:

-

Info about main preferences > Graphic tab

Activate: Bump mapping and shiny + basic shaders
You can also just mark ‘bump mapping and shiny’ without the basic shaders.

Lighting Detail > Nearby local lights (!)

-

Advanced sky editor > world > environment settings > environment  editor > advanced sky editor

Click ‘new’ and than change the settings the same or close to mine. Don’t forget to save your new settings at the end.

The setting (click here for all 3 tabs).

The most important value in this setting is the gamma. The difference in the gamma is just noticed from cero to around four - all above doesn’t change much for your eyes.

More gamma removes the shadows and hard borders in your screenshot.

-

Additional play in the Graphic Tab Setting (main preferences)

Activate > Bump mapping and shiny + basic shaders + atmospheric shaders (!) but now your face is to shiny and bright - overexposed! Oh no!

Change to ‘sun and moon only’ for the lighting details!

-

At last the comparison between the possibilities of this windlight setting ..

It’s up to you which shader you will learn to love for your later workflow.
Personally I just love using the basic shaders.