UE5 Realistic Lighting Study
This was a lighting study focused on mood and storytelling. I wanted to create a grounded environment that felt lived-in, with lighting that supports the tone without overcomplicating the scene. Most of the lighting work was done in Unreal Engine 5 using a mix of baked and dynamic lights. I played with color contrast, soft shadows, and localized practicals to guide the viewer’s eye and build atmosphere across different areas of the space.
This started as a simple goal: build a space that felt grounded and believable, and use lighting to guide the viewer’s eye and support the mood. I didn’t want it to be over-the-top or overly cinematic, just honest lighting that tells a subtle story. I also wanted to get more comfortable working with baked and dynamic lights in the same scene and keeping everything optimized.
1. Intent & Mood
The idea was to create a contrast between functional lighting and emotional lighting. The grow lights in the back are colder and more clinical, while the main living area has a warmer tone that feels like a place someone actually lives. It wasn’t about making it flashy, it was more about using lighting to suggest what kind of activities happen in each part of the space.
2. Light Placement
Most of the scene is lit with a mix of static and dynamic lights. I used baked lighting for the general fill and then added dynamic sources only where they mattered, like emissives or key accents. The goal was to keep performance stable but still give myself room to shape the space.
A lot of time went into tweaking light falloff, softness, and color temperature. I didn’t use a ton of GI tricks — just tried to make each light feel like it belonged and contributed to the overall balance.
3. Composition & Focus
Each shot is framed to lead the viewer’s attention naturally. Instead of throwing a bunch of rim lights or obvious spotlights at things, I focused on value shifts and subtle gradients. I wanted areas of the scene to breathe, to give the eye places to rest, and to avoid over-lighting things just for visibility.
4. Troubleshooting
Lightmap issues were the biggest time sink. Making sure props baked cleanly, adjusting lightmap density, and fixing weird shadow seams took a good chunk of time. Exposure control was another challenge: I wanted to preserve contrast but still keep details readable in dark corners.
5. Takeaways
This study helped me think more like a cinematographer, not just "where should the light go," but why it should be there and what story it helps tell. It also gave me a better sense of how to mix lighting types, work with post-process exposure, and troubleshoot baked vs. real-time issues in UE5.
Built with:
Unreal Engine 5