Lighting Contest 2011 - Results

First of all… big thanks to everyone who entered. It was great to see what our customers have been up to with HDR Light Studio.

It wasn’t easy to choose the winners from the wide range of entries and subject matter we received. The top 3 represents the selections of all the judges… but we were by no means all in agreement – this was tough… many images were really great and it is a very subjective task. This competition was all about the lighting and how the image based lighting had contributed to the final render. The top 3 images clearly demonstrate how good image based lighting, even if it is simple and subtle, can bring a 3D object to life.

Onto the results… (Fanfare!)

1st Place!

Greg Peruski, Mid Coast Studio
This image was a favorite with the majority of the judges. The car jumps out of the image and the lighting dances across the body panels which communicate the form of the vehicle.
It’s a classic automotive studio shot.

2nd Place

Ricky Chou & Lee Waters, BlueSky CGI
Another car shot – this time placing it into a photographic background. This shot is super clean and crisp and has that retouched feel. It’s not over complex and zings out of the background… a classic advertising shot that would be at home in any print ad.

3rd Place

Tsukasa Abe
This render shows great use of reflections to help read the shape of this complex model, it seems perfectly balanced and even the composition is dynamic and fresh. Yes the lighting is simple, just 3 lights… but that’s all this shot needed. Less can be more!

These additional shots caught the judges eyes and are ‘Highly Commended’… they all made it to the final selection process.

Tim Feher

Paintbox India

Peter Schamberger, Staudinger Franke

Once again thanks to all the entries and we will definitely run this competition again next year. Also big thanks go out to the judges Jeff Patton, Nigel Harniman and Jordi Bares who help me, Mark Segasby, choose the winners.

Soon we will place the best of the submissions into a new section on the gallery… so you can see more of the entries for this years competition.