Lighting

Lighting is one of the most important factors in creating professional product visuals. Glossi Studio combines global environment lighting with precise physical lights, giving you control over both the overall mood of your scene and the fine details of how your product is illuminated.

Lighting Overview

The lighting system has three layers:

• HDRI (environment light) — Image-based lighting that wraps your scene in a 360° environment, providing natural ambient light and reflections.

• Sunlight (directional light) — A powerful directional light source that creates sharp, parallel light rays and defined shadows, like real sunlight.

• Physical lights — Studio-style lights (Lightbox, Spotlight, Bulb) that you position and aim to highlight specific areas of your product.

Managing Lights

Lights are listed in the Scene tab of the left sidebar under the Lights section.

• Select a light by clicking it in the list. The right sidebar opens with that light's controls.

• Add a light by clicking "Add Light" at the bottom of the list. New lights default to a Lightbox type.

• Enable or disable a light by clicking the visibility toggle next to its name.

• Delete a light by hovering over it and clicking the trash icon. A confirmation prompt will appear.

• Rename a light by editing its name directly in the right sidebar header when selected.

Light Presets

Click the preset button at the top of the lights section to browse and apply lighting presets.

• Recommended — A curated set of system presets for common lighting scenarios.

• My Presets — Your saved custom presets. You can rename, update, or delete these.

When you've customized a preset, a "Save as New" option appears to save your current setup for reuse. Presets store the complete lighting setup — all lights and their properties, positions, targeting, environment lighting, and sun configuration.

Presets automatically scale to fit your product's size, so light distances, intensity, and shadow quality adapt whether you're working with a small accessory or a large piece of furniture.

Light Rig Settings

Click the settings icon next to the "Lights" header to access global rig controls. These adjust the entire lighting setup at once:

• Rotation — Rotates all lights around the scene (0–360°).

• Distance — Moves all lights closer to or further from the product.

• Intensity — Scales the brightness of all lights together.

HDRI (Environment Light)

An HDRI (High Dynamic Range Image) is a 360° photograph that captures the full lighting information of a real environment. When applied in the studio, it's like placing your product inside that space — it catches all the light, color, and reflections from the environment.

HDRI lighting is particularly effective for products with reflective or glossy materials, where realistic environment reflections are essential.

Controls

• Intensity — Adjusts the overall brightness of the environment lighting.

• Orbit Around — Rotates the environment to change the direction of the main light sources and reflections.

• Tint — Applies a color tint to the environment lighting.

• HDRI Map — Choose from a library of environment maps, each creating a different lighting mood. A preview thumbnail is shown at the top of the panel.

Sunlight

The sunlight acts as a powerful directional light source that creates clear, defined shadows. Because it simulates light from a very distant source, all rays are parallel — just like real sunlight. This makes it ideal for defining your product's shape through shadow.

Controls

• Effect — Controls what the sunlight affects: Product & Environment, Product Only, or Environment Only. Use this to light your product independently of the backdrop.

• Color — Changes the light color and temperature.

• Orbit Around — Repositions the sun horizontally (0–360°).

• Orbit Above — Adjusts the sun's vertical angle (-90° to +90°).

• Intensity — Adjusts brightness. Uses a precision slider for fine control across a wide range.

• Softness — Controls shadow edge definition (0–50). Lower values create hard, defined shadows; higher values create soft, diffused shadows.

Physical Lights

Physical lights give you precise control for highlighting specific product features. They work like real studio lights — you position them in 3D space, aim them at a target, and adjust their properties to get exactly the look you want.

When a physical light is selected, a mini-map appears showing its position relative to your product, making it easy to understand where the light is coming from.

Light Types

You can switch between types at any time using the type selector in the right sidebar:

• Lightbox — Creates soft, even illumination similar to a photography softbox. Supports area light maps for shaping the light pattern.

• Spotlight — Produces a focused beam for highlighting details. Supports gobos (patterned masks) to create shaped light effects.

• Bulb — Radiates light in all directions for ambient fill lighting.

Properties

All physical lights share these controls:

• Effect — Controls what the light affects: Product & Environment, Product Only, or Environment Only.

• Color — Sets the light color.

• Intensity — Adjusts brightness. Uses a precision slider with a wide range for fine control.

• Temperature — Adjusts color temperature from warm (1,500K) to cool (15,000K). Defaults to 6,500K (neutral daylight).

• Size — Controls the light's physical dimensions (width and height). Larger lights produce softer shadows.

Position

Physical lights are positioned using orbital controls relative to their target:

• Target — What the light aims at. Choose Full Product or select a specific feature point on your model. You can also click "Click to Place" to interactively set a target by clicking on your model.

• Distance — How far the light is from its target.

• Orbit Above — The vertical angle of the light (-90° to +90°).

• Orbit Around — The horizontal angle of the light (0–360°).

Tip: Start with a lighting preset that matches your scene's mood, then add or adjust individual physical lights to highlight specific product features. The Effect dropdown is particularly useful — setting a light to "Product Only" lets you illuminate your product without affecting the backdrop lighting.