I was surfing Instagram like I always do for my photography and I found “Set a light 3D”, it looked super interesting so I went on an intense “search dive”.

Set a light 3D is a virtual photography studio available for both Mac and PC. It renders light just as light is rendered in real life.

Image via Elixxier Software.

It gives you access to multiple configurations and options (studio, models, strobes, speedlights, modifiers, continuous lights, props, light gels, and more.). You can even enter the measurements of your studio for a more accurate view. You can customize pretty much everything while creating a lighting setup: e.g., the wall color, background, floor texture, model hair color, pose, nail color, and clothing. What’s mind-blowing about set.a.light 3D is that you can visualize in advance all the light and camera settings, without having to move a muscle.

Kohler of diyphotography.net explains set.a.Light 3D as utilizing a gaming engine to calculate the light. If you’ve seen any of the latest computer games, you know what I am talking about. Now get rid of all the violence and blood and you get a very good light rendering engine.

The best thing about set a light 3D is the ease of use, you barely need a tutorial to get started on it.

Here is a youtube video to get you started;

Youtube: Readylight Media

Cons of using Set a light 3D for photography

1. It is useless if you do not have the lights recommended by the software.
2. It does not have diffusion or silks that you can use to diffuse lights. Most of the lights featured are flashes or flash modifiers, though they do have several ARRI LEDs and tungsten spotlights.

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