Learning environment lighting

Even if we already set up a proper three-point light system, a real studio shot usually has some more elements around the scene that will contribute to the reflections on the object.

Getting ready

To recreate the environment that will contribute to the lighting and the reflections, it won't be necessary to model a whole scene. Instead, we can use an image to fake the environment around the scene and give our objects something to reflect.

How to do it...

To create the environment lighting, we will be following these steps:

1. Let's go to the World node editor and add the following three nodes:
   • Texture Coordinate
   • Environment Texture (Add | Texture)
   • Mapping (Add | Vector)
2. The environment texture is the kind of texture that we always have to use for a World BSDF (Bidirectional Scattering Distribution Function). The Mapping node is really useful. It allows us to move, rotate, and scale an image on a surface or, as for this situation, on the environment. Let's...