Photon maps
 
 
 
Tip

To see the distribution of photons for global illumination, you can generate a 3-dimensional visualization map in shaded or wireframe scene views. For more information, see See the distribution of photons.

Photon maps are:

GI photon maps vs. caustic photon maps

Photons that are specularly reflected or refracted are stored in the caustic photon map; all other photons are stored in the global illumination map.

As the Shinyness parameter of the photon shader attached to an object increases, specular highlights become smaller and the likelihood of specular reflection increases. In this case, more photons migrate from the global illumination map into the caustic photon map, decreasing the density of the global illumination map. (Similar considerations apply to the Translucence parameter, but in the opposite direction: when Translucence is increased, photons migrate from the caustic photon map into the global illumination photon map.)

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