How to use HDR in Poser 12?

High Dynamic Range (HDR) is a processing technique that allows you to get a greater range between the light and dark parts of an image.

With HDR you can very, very much improve the effect of presence: you can show details that you would otherwise not see.

So it's a very important element when (and if) you're creating a design project or a 3D scene.

Read on and we'll show you how to use HDR in Poser 12.

How to use HDR

There are several ways to use HDR in Poser.

The most common is to place it on the inside of the sphere that surrounds the wall. You can also, for example, increase the value of the ambient parameter for the sphere - this will give you a soft and diffuse light.

But let's stay with the sphere example for a moment - you'll often use HDR in Poser just in this way.

Why is that?

Well, firstly, using a background object as a light source will render with less noise. Secondly, the background will also cast glare and light onto the HDR images. Characters (and props) will also cast the correct shadows on the scene.

To set all this up, you'll first need to remove all the lights on the stage so they don't get in the way.

Next, you should remove the standard props. No, you can still leave them, but there is a chance that the light will not pass through them.

Then go to the materials menu and select the Background object. Then adjust the background material shader as follows:

• Change the Y-value in the node rotation.
  
• Leave all the default nodes in their default positions and do not delete them. If you do, everything will be reset when you close the Materials tab. This is unfortunate.
  
• Set the display node's X scale value to -1. This will change the mirror projection, making the scene more 'real'.
  

By the way, you can use Y to change the orientation of the HDR. This helps to change the direction of sunlight on objects.

And yes, dynamic lighting and something resembling sunlight can only be achieved with dynamic HDR. Of course, you can still use standard JPGs for lighting, but they won't have glare and won't cast shadows.

Aaaand they won't maximise the realism of the scene.

By the way, how does lighting work in general in Poser?

Oh, right. We forgot to mention the most important thing.

We haven't told you how light works in Poser.

Well, Poser has three types of light:

• Unlimited;
  
• Spot based;
  
• Image based.
  

Each light can be configured differently by changing its position, colour and intensity. It's also worth mentioning that it's an object, which means it can be linked to other objects in the scene to follow them.

Finally, Poser has an exposure element. At low values you get dull images without much shadow or glare, at high values you get sharp details.
In general, light is an extremely important element without which it is difficult to imagine a realistic project. The good thing about Poser is that it works on the basis of advanced technologies and requires subtle fine-tuning.

How do I export the files?

The finished files, if they are images, can be exported as .hdr or .exr.

To optimise images for export, choose Render > Render Settings and check HDRI Optimised Output in the FireFly Settings tab. And to export the file, choose File > Export from the main menu.

Although such files are more accurate, they can sometimes result in a noticeable loss of anti-aliasing and banding in certain planes. These unfortunate effects can be mitigated if you optimise them beforehand.