The global photon map is somewhat similar to the irradiance map. It is
also used to represent the lighting in the scene, and it is a collection of
points in 3D space (a point cloud). However, the photon map is built in a
different way. It is built by tracing particles (photons) emitted by the
scene lights. Those photons bounce around the scene and hit various
surfaces. The hit points are stored in the photon map.
Reconstructing the illumination from the photon map is also different
from the irradiance map. With the irradiance map, a simple interpolation is
used to blend the nearby GI samples. With the photon map, we need to
estimate the photon density at a given point. The
idea of density estimation is central to the photon map. V-Ray can use
several methods for density estimation, each with its own advantages and
disadvantages. Usually these methods are based on looking for the photons
that are nearest to the shaded point.
Note that in general, the photon map provides a less accurate
approximation of the scene illumination than the irradiance map, especially
when it comes to small details. The irradiance map is built adaptively,
whereas the photon map is not. Also a major disadvantage of the photon map
is the boundary bias. This unwanted effect is
mostly visible around corners and object edges, which appear darker than
they should be. The irradiance map can also exhibit boundary bias, however
its adaptive nature allows one to decrease the effect greatly. Another
disadvantage of the photon map is that it cannot simulate illumination from
skylight. This is because the photons need an actual surface to be emitted
from. The skylight, at least in V-Ray, is not a surface actually present in
the scene.
On the other hand, the photon map is view-independent and can be computed
relatively quickly. This makes it ideal for approximating the scene
illumination when used together with more accurate methods like direct
computation or the irradiance map.
![[Photon map rollout]](vray_for_3ds_max_manual/global_photon_map/photonmap.png)
Note
that the building of the photon map is also controlled by the photon
settings of individual lights in the scene. See the
Light settings dialog for more information.
Bounces - this parameter controls the
number of light bounces approximated by the photon map. More bounces produce
a more reallistic result, but take more time and memory.
Auto search dist - when this is
on, V-Ray will try to compute a suitable distance
within which to search for photons. Sometimes the computed distance is ok,
in other cases it might be too big (which will slow down the rendering) or
too small (which will produce a more noisy result).
Search dist - this option is only
available when Auto search dist is off. It
allows you to specify the photon search distance manually. Keep in mind that
this value depends on the size of your scene. Lower values will speed up the
rendering but may produce more noisy results. Larger values will slow down
the rendering but may produce smoother results.
Max photons - this option specifies how
many photons will be taken into consideration when approximating the
irradiance at the shaded point. More photons mean a smoother (and more
blurry) result and may also slow down the rendering. Smaller values mean a
more noisy result but will render faster. When this value is
0, V-Ray will use all the photons in the given
search range.
Multiplier - this allows you to control the
brightness of the photon map.
Max density - this parameter allows you to
limit the resolution (and thus the memory) of the photon map. Whenever V-Ray
needs to store a new photon in the photon map, it will first look if there
are any other photons within a distance specified by
Max density. If there is already a suitable photon in the map, V-Ray
will just add the energy of the new photon to the one in the map. Otherwise,
V-Ray will store the new photon in the photon map. Using this options allows
you to shoot many photons (and thus get smoother results) while keeping the
size of the photon map manageable.
Convert to irradiance map - this will
cause V-Ray to precompute the irradiance at the photon hit points stored in
the photon map. This allows fewer photons to be used when interpolated the
irradiance during rendering, while keeping the result relatively smooth. It
is important to note that the resulting map stores irradiance, but is not
the same as the irradiance cache used by V-Ray for primary diffuse bounces.
Interp. samples - this controls how many
irradiance samples will be taken from the photon map once it is converted to
an irradiance map. Larger values produce smoother results, but may be
slower; smaller values produces more noisy results but rendering is faster.
Convex hull area estimate - when this is
off, V-Ray will use a simplified algorithm for
computing the area, covered by a number of photons (by only taking the
distance to the farthest photon). This algorithm may cause corners to be
darker. Using the convex hull area estimate avoids the dark corners problem,
but is slower and not as robust.
Store direct light - when this is
on, V-Ray will store direct illumination in the
photon map as well. This may speed up the irradiance map or brute force GI,
when used as a primary engine, and there are lots of lights in the scene.
When this is off, direct lighting will be
computed always by tracing the necessary rays. This may slow things down if
there are lots of lights in the scene.
Retrace threshold - when this is greater
than 0.0, V-Ray will use brute force GI near corners, instead of the photon
map, in order to obtain a more accurate result and to avoid splotches in
these areas. This may slow down the rendering. When this is 0.0,
the photon map will be used always, which will be faster, but may produce
artifacts near corners or in places where objects are close to each other.
Retrace bounces - controls how many
bounces will be made when retracing corners. If
Retrace threshold is 0.0, then this parameter is ignored. Typically
this should be equal to the Bounces
parameter.
