One of my favorite things about working in CG is using photography as a guide to bridge the gap from reality to digital lighting. In this post, we will explore two initially unrelated lighting ideas, one for photography, and the other for digital lighting in Maya. The final results share a very similar technique and outcome.
Typically, when working in photography, one of the major restraints is equipment (or cost). And when working in CG the restraint is often render time (or virtual cost). This is a simplification, but it can often dictate how many lights you use in a CG scene while in production or buy/rent for a photo shoot.
To begin, the first idea was to create a cost effective light ring to experiment with portrait photography. The goal for this project was to make a unique customizable look for a photography setup (and to keep the cost down!) The “light ring” idea had been bouncing around in my head for awhile, but all came to life when shopping at Target. What other place do dreams become a reality… I was actually looking for a way to better illuminate the dimly lit bathroom in my apartment to assist in shaving. I came across some inexpensive LED “tap lights” that were uniquely small and had a somewhat concentrated light source. At least, more so that what I typically have seen on the market. So, after a little scheming in the aisles of Target, I ended up leaving the store with a cart full of supplies.
To cut to the chase, here are some examples of the final results of the light ring in action. This is a standard 3 point lighting setup with a twist on the fill light (or ring light.) As you can see, the light ring puts a unique dot pattern in the reflection from the eyes.
The Light Ring Setup (Easy to make!)
Here is an overview of the photography setup for the Light Ring Portraits. This will show you the supplies needed and setup to make a customizable light ring. It was a lot of fun to experiment with and the total cost for the light ring came in just under $50.
The supplies needed: 
- Energizer Light 2 Pack - $6.89 (x4)
- Batteries 24 Pack – $10.89
- Box Wreath Frame $2.99 (x2)
- Duct Tape $3.74
Total Cost: $48.17
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(not bad for a photographic venture)
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The photo above shows the final construction of the light ring. If you would like more information on the steps to construct the light ring, check out the photography setup on Jay Axe’s blog.
The image to the above shows the light ring in action. To achieve the look in the example photos, the light ring was placed directly in front of the subject. The camera was placed directly behind the light ring and the view was composed to look through the back of the ring. The challenging part was to get the best angle on the subjects face shooting through a ring that was about equal to the field of view. Once the setup was tuned properly, it was ready for multiple shots from the same vantage point.
The lighting is a 3 point setup. The key light (flash) is from the top right on a light stand. The fill is the light ring directly in front of the subject. And the rim is a floodlight to illuminate to the back of the subject’s head and to add some extra light to the background.
Check out a few of light pattern setups. You can illuminate as many/few light sources as you like to achieve a desired look. It’s as easy as tapping a button to get a variety of different dot patterns.
The Second Lighting Idea. (Digital Lighting in Vray)
When lighting in Maya using Vray, there are a limited amount of lighting tools. Typically, they work just fine, but sometimes you may need a little more customization. I came across a situation where I wanted to simulate the idea of having many lights cast reflections on a character. One way to achieve this is to make multiple individual Vray Lights to cast realistic raytraced reflections. The only problem with this technique is that it would be expensive in render time (virtual cost). The solution that came to mind was not too different than the light ring portrait photography setup. Instead of creating the individual lights, I used an image map to simulate the idea of having a light ring. This was placed as a texture or cucoloris on the light.
This technique allows for one Vray Light to create a ring light effect. This concept is not so different than the light ring portrait setup. The end goal is similar in that it presents a creative way to efficiently create a multiple light effect. The image above is the image map that was placed on the Vray Light. Think of it as a square light source that is blocked by the black areas and the only light that is able to pass through is the white dots. A swiss cheese light. 
The rendering above shows the effect of the ring light illuminating and reflecting on the character. It is a similar 3 point light setup as the photography shoot. The difference here is the ring is placed above the character as shown in the real world basketball reference images below.
It always good to have have real world reference when working with CG lighting. These images show what sparked the idea to use the light ring technique.
Thanks for reading and I hope you found this concept interesting and helpful.
Posted by Jay Axe
Really cool setup and idea.
Goodness gracious the clarity of photographs on display here is absolutely mesmerizing! Amazing work Jay!
-Mark Wettreich
Phenomenal!…and the models aren’t bad either.
Great creativity. Cool to see the photo of how you created such interesting light and clarity. Nice work!
amazing ! great job!!
Interesting setup. But what look were you aiming for exactly?
Something like we would get from a flash like this?
http://thecoolgadgets.com/q-flash-affordable-flash-gun-focus-on-the-object-or-hiding-the-photographer/ ?
In the way you setup it now, it makes me think to some experiments on HDRshop (I think) where tons of led lights were placed all around a model to recreate on it the lighting from an outdoor scene per example. If I can find it again, I’ll repost a comment.
In 3D, I find your idea really interesting. It creates realistic and sophisticated specular. You did it with vRay, but it could definitely be done with any other rendering engines. Did you try to create the same effect with a reflection map maybe? I wonder if it would have looked different.
Anyway, all this is really interesting.
Hi Francois!
You bring up some good points. To tell you the truth, I did not have a specific goal in mind. Here is one of my sources of inspiration.
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Art-Installation-Japan/1128633
I was not sure how much the led lights would output compared to the beefy flash…there was definitely some balancing to be done. If I were to do it again, I would try to find a way to get more illumination out of the light ring…maybe as a stronger overall light source.
One thing I do not like about the q flash, is that it does not offer as much in customization. Maybe I could use the technique used in cg to make a cucoloris out of the q flash…sounds interesting to me!!
As for the reflection map, it would be interesting to try out. I was happy with this result because it was not shader derived…but it is always good to approach a situation from all different angles.
It would be great to see the link you mentioned about HDRshop. Thanks for the comments!
It’s funny to see that the project you got inspired by is from a guy from Trois-Rivière, an hour away from Montréal. The guy is crazy talented. I am soooooo jealous of his work!
As for Q flash or ring flash, it’s cool, but always offer the same look. A bit fashion, a bit trashy…
Here’s the link I saw a few years ago with a sphere of lights around the model. There’s not that as many examples as I remembered unfortunately.
http://gl.ict.usc.edu/
The pictures are stunning!
Wish I could do that!
Rudi
Hat’s off to you for creativity! This is a great, well executed idea. Nice work!
Impressive! Amazing work.
Very Very cool images!
Very interesting. Thinking outside the box..or ring…generates positive results. Good luck on making it “portable”!
Great pictures and technique…wish I was half as good!
Rudi
Awesome work Jay!
Wonderful !
I always love your experiments with lighting/photos. What is causing the bokeh effect in the background? Bathroom tiles? Are you going to use Champi as your next subject? I guess that will be a challenge since getting the right angle/position.
Tiffany
Yes! I failed to mention that the bokeh effects were from the shallow depth of field created with the Nikkor 60mm Micro lens. The bath tiles have a beetle-like iridescence that makes the range of colors…also a good reason for making the bathroom into a photo booth!
We did some shots with Champi, but she was too excited to stay still enough.
Thanks for commenting!
-Jay
Nice work Axeman!
Magnifiques photos. Bon travail.
Jay, I love how this simple approach feels so classic hollywood film. Would look cool as a light rig for 3d too.
Rich
Wonderfull !!!!!Jay,you are a real professional….Beijo…Patrick Anita
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Great composition and fun images! Dorothee looks awesome. You never know when or where inspiration will strike. You found a very creative (and cheap) lighting solution with the added benefit of an application for CG. Way to go Jay!
Terrific! You’ve come a long way on a fantastic journey since the Still Life Lantern. Continue to enjoy and amaze us with what is around the next bend along the road of your successes.
Thanks for reading! I really enjoyed all of your comments…and inspiration to do more light experimenting!
-Jay
Very cool Jay. Love the creativity.