Images In renders

[spencerfitch]

Hey Guys! I have a question that pertains to a variety of images that I see that are shared on this forum. I see a lot of great renders and I was curious about the image in the background. Wether it's a lake, ocean, mountain or whatever it always adds a nice flair to the image. Is this image the HDRI for an IBL or is it an image applied to a geometry plane and placed in the render scene?

 

Thanks!

[J.C]

Depends on what image you're refering to. If you see the background image reflected on some surfaces it is a dome or plane otherwise I personally think is better to add the background in post.

[spencerfitch]

I see... The images i have seen that are reflected due to the IBL are of absolute great quality. I wonder if its more of a v-ray thing opposed to a Mental Ray. I need to find out! lol.

[jameswelch]

I wonder if its more of a v-ray thing opposed to a Mental Ray

You can 'plug' in an HDR to the environment slot in Mental Ray, this will use the HDR to light the scene and also reflect the environment

[easy3dsource]

Often times you'll see an HDRI used for the general reflections off of shiny surfaces, but then a separate image may be used for the "back plate." This is often done in post, or it's just a plane or other piece of simple geometry with the image of choice mapped to it.