How are HDRI Images created, and their Significance in Architecture
The Construction Industry in the last two decades has transformed drastically alongside the advancements in technology. With building technology making rapid changes in the world of construction, BIM (Building Information Modelling) has now made it possible to enhance and ease the design and construction process to lengths that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.
Along with planning the entire building process it is now also possible to predict a lot of the hurdles that the construction might face during its course, with the help of advanced technology and BIM and its increasing dimensions taking us further into precision and planning.
While technology such as Drones has helped in construction on a large scale with aspects such as site analysis, site survey and security, HDRI images have made it possible not only to detect and service the parts of the building with more precision but also to a large extent in the presentation of these architectural designs with highest quality of images giving the clients a better and more realistic understanding of the design and space. Let’s take a closer look at how are HDRI Images created? and their significance in Architecture.
What are HRDIs?
HDR Images or HDRI is short for High Dynamic Range Image. Digital cameras only have a limited dynamic range that’s why some areas of a photo appear darker than they do in real life. HDRIs give photo editors a chance to brighten the corners and create an image that looks more natural.
HDRI in Architectural Rendering
HDRI environments are commonly used for rendering architectural renderings. These panoramic images, who vary in tone and mood, give a realistic lighting effect on 3D scenes and objects. It also adds more natural light to a scene.
3D experts typically choose an HDRI environment that represents the physical location of the 3D object. However, any HDRI environment can add a unique lighting feature to a 3D model. For example, an HDRI environment of a forest can be applied to the 3D model of a mountain bike to give a more realistic lighting impression of the model. A HDR image of a sky can also be used to give a general realistic view of the object without any specific background.
HDRI Maps and Site Location
- Dynamic range.
The most important thing is the actual dynamic range of the image. This is in fact what this article is about, so we’ll get back to this topic later on. But first read about some other aspects of what makes a good HDRI stand out. - Is the map useful for your renderings?
You don’t want to render your brand new watch in a desert environment. And you don’t want to render the latest concept car on a kitchen table. So think about what you want your environment to look like, so it fits the scene you will be rendering. Even if you will not be rendering your objects with the HDRI as a backdrop, the environment is important. It shows up in reflections and makes up your lighting, so rendering objects outside of their usual environment will look unnatural. - Variation in HDRI bundles or collections.
Make sure that when you buy a complete collection, that there is some variation in the environments. Many collections contain dozens of maps from wide open exterior spaces. The clouds seen from hill X look the same as the clouds seen from hill Y, so there’s no use in 15 maps from the same area on the same day. Same goes for city environments and even interiors. The following maps look different, but the effect on your rendering will only be small. - Contrast and light
A HDRI map is used for rendering reflections and realistic lighting. So that’s what you want in your map: interesting features that will appear in your reflections, and nice lights that will bring your scene to life. So make sure you get a rendered preview of a scene lit with the specific hdri map, that’s the only way you can see if it creates nice reflections and vivid lighting.
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