HDRI

An HDRI (High Dynamic Range Image) stores a far wider range of brightness than an ordinary photo. The huge gap between the sun itself and a wall in shade is recorded with close-to-real values instead of being clipped. In architectural rendering it is usually a 360-degree panorama wrapped around the scene like a sphere.

HDRI in architectural visualization

An HDRI does two jobs at once: it provides the sky and surroundings in the background, and it lights the scene with the light of a real place. An overcast sky gives soft, almost shadowless light; a clear afternoon HDRI brings crisp shadows and warm tones. Reflections in glass and metal also become rich and believable.

Practical tips

• Rotate the HDRI to set the sun direction for your camera angle.
• Resolution matters for reflections, not only for the visible background.
• HDRIs that include the sun cast sharp shadows; for those that do not, add a separate sun light.
• Swapping the background for a separate photo gives compositional freedom without changing the lighting.

For more on lighting outdoor scenes, see our exterior architectural visualization guide.