InstantPlanner automatically renders and saves HDR (High Dynamic Range) images in the .exr format alongside regular .png images, to enable editing in InstantPlanner or in 3rd party photo editing software. Post processing is great for correcting or enhancing a rendering, or for adding special effects. If you have a rendering that you're not quite happy with, try working with the post processing options as a first step before re-rendering. Original rendering too dark? Try brighten it up a bit! Post processing can be a real time saver!
The post processing area of the Render Queue window is divided into the following sections: Tone mapping, Brightness/Contrast, Effects, Intensity curve, and White balance. Every section has a reset button that will reset all the controls within the section to their default, and there is also a back arrow button that resets each control individually. If a post processing is changed from default, the section name turns blue and displays a *, so you can easily spot where any changes have been made.
When an image has finished rendering and the line is green, you can start with the post processing. To apply a post processing effect, click and move a slider sideways, or type in a value in the input field and press Enter. All changes are instant and are temporarily saved in the .png file in the image folder. If you want to keep the edited image, remember to save the .png file manually to different location, since the file in the Render Queue folder will be overwritten the next time you apply post processing.
We recommend that you start trying these settings out carefully, since tweaking the controls just slightly could have quite a significant impact on your image.
Tone mapping compresses the color range in an image into a range that can be handled by computer monitors. InstantPlanner offers three options that will affect your image differently. Describing exactly how is difficult, so we recommend that you try them out yourself and compare the results. Remember to look at the overall image as well as the details (for example lit surfaces).
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Limited: the Limited option lies very close to the original image. This method limits the color range by cutting out the darkest and the brightest colors. It does not actually correct anything; under exposed areas will remain dark, and over exposed areas will remain bright.
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Photographic (default): this option is the default setting because it uses more color shades and most of the times generates the best result. It corrects under and over exposed areas, but could make the colors look slightly plain and dull, in which case you can try the other tone mapping options. This tone mapping removes light effects that are out of range, which the burn control can then recreate, if desired.
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Exposure: is basically just like the Limited option but with a control for adjusting the exposure to make the image brighter. In the image to the left, the exposure has been increased to 1.75 (default is 1.00).
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The Brightness slider adjusts the overall brightness in the image, ranging from very dark on the left to very bright on the right.
The Contrast slider increases or decreases the contrast in the image, making objects in the image more or less distinguishable from other objects and the background.
Note that these controls are global, i.e. they affect the whole image and are not very nuanced.
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No adjusted brightness or contrast |
Brightness set to 20 |
Brightness and contrast set to 20, respectively |
These controls let you sharpen or blur your image, or apply a glow effect.
Sharpen: reinforces the lines in the image, making objects look sharper:
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No sharpen effect |
Full sharpen effect |
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No sharpen effect |
Full sharpen effect |
Blur: applies a blur effect to the image. Notice that the Radius control has a large impact here in terms of how much blur is applied. The minimum value (1) applies a very light blur, hardy even visible, while the maximum value (6) applies a really significant blur. The blur effect affects the whole image.
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No blur effect |
Full
blur effect and |
Full
blur effect and |
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No blur effect |
Full
blur effect and |
Full
blur effect and |
Glow: makes lit surfaces (such as tiles or table tops) even glossier as the light on them increases.
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No glow effect |
Glow effect set to 80 |
The intensity curve is a graphical control for fine tuning the overall light intensity in the image. The leftmost column affects the darkest areas, the rightmost the brightest areas, and the two middle columns affect the mid range areas. It starts out as neutral, with no intensity correction which is displayed as a diagonal line as shown below:
You can change the intensity by selecting one of the presets Brighten, Darken, Contrast, and Invert. These will have different effects on the image, and you will notice that the curve changes. You can left click on a control point to slightly adjust the curve, and if you left click anywhere along the curve you will add a new control point. If you make alterations, a dashed line show the neutral reference line. The reset button is for resetting to the selected preset. If you don’t want any intensity correction at all, pick the neutral option from the drop down menu again. You can also create custom curves simply by adding your own control points by left clicking along the curve, and adjusting them. To remove a control point from the curve, just right click on it.
You can also click the small arrows on the side of the grid to change the curve's start and end points.
Adjusting the white balance will change the color balance in your rendering; making it look warmer or cooler. The white balance is adjusted by clicking anywhere along the scale from amber through white to blue, until your are satisfied with the result. To set a custom reference color, click the color preview and select your reference color.
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White balance set to about halfway in the Cooler direction |
White balance set to about halfway in the Warmer direction |
A few words of advice on post-processing:
For tone mapping to function properly, the white infinite background must not be visible through wall openings (i.e. windows, doors, vaults etc.). Otherwise, the tone mapping will try to balance up the rendering bases on the white background, which is a non-desired behavior. To prevent this from happening, we recommend that you place one or several Standing 3D image components outside of wall openings. If you wish, you can add a texture or image, or just a plain color. Since this image component is one-sided by default, the sun can shine through it from the back, which is necessary if you want to simulate the sun shining through an opening into the room.
Also notice that missing materials on imported objects can mess up the tone mapping, since it then tries to balance up the wrong things.