Illumination is one of the key components in the creation of realistic renderings of scenes containing virtual objects. In this paper, we present a set of novel algorithms and data structures for visualization, processing and rendering with real world lighting conditions captured using High Dynamic Range (HDR) video. The presented algorithms enable rapid construction of general and editable representations of the lighting environment, as well as extraction and fitting of sampled reflectance to parametric BRDF models. For efficient representation and rendering of the sampled lighting environment function, we consider an adaptive (2D/4D) data structure for storage of light field data on proxy geometry describing the scene. To demonstrate the usefulness of the algorithms, they are presented in the context of a fully integrated framework for spatially varying image based lighting. We show reconstructions of example scenes and resulting production quality renderings of virtual furniture with spatially varying real world illumination including occlusions.

This article presents two new parametric models of the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF), one inspired by the Rayleigh-Rice theory for light scattering from optically smooth surfaces, and one inspired by micro-facet theory. The models represent scattering from a wide range of glossy surface types with high accuracy. In particular, they enable representation of types of surface scattering which previous parametric models have had trouble modeling accurately. In a study of the scattering behavior of measured reflectance data, we investigate what key properties are needed for a model to accurately represent scattering from glossy surfaces. We investigate different parametrizations and how well they match the behavior of measured BRDFs. We also examine the scattering curves which are represented in parametric models by different distribution functions. Based on the insights gained from the study, the new models are designed to provide accurate fittings to the measured data. Importance sampling schemes are developed for the new models, enabling direct use in existing production pipelines. In the resulting renderings we show that the visual quality achieved by the models matches that of the measured data.

We present an algorithm that enables real-time dynamic shading in direct volume rendering using general lighting, including directional lights, point lights, and environment maps. Real-time performance is achieved by encoding local and global volumetric visibility using spherical harmonic (SH) basis functions stored in an efficient multiresolution grid over the extent of the volume. Our method enables high-frequency shadows in the spatial domain, but is limited to a low-frequency approximation of visibility and illumination in the angular domain. In a first pass, level of detail (LOD) selection in the grid is based on the current transfer function setting. This enables rapid online computation and SH projection of the local spherical distribution of visibility information. Using a piecewise integration of the SH coefficients over the local regions, the global visibility within the volume is then computed. By representing the light sources using their SH projections, the integral over lighting, visibility, and isotropic phase functions can be efficiently computed during rendering. The utility of our method is demonstrated in several examples showing the generality and interactive performance of the approach.