HDRi to Light Stack

Choose a source#

Open the highlighted + Light → HDRi to Light Stack command, also available under the Studio menu. Upload an HDRi, use the selected HDRi File or HDRi Environment layer, or use an existing legacy Environment when available. HDR and EXR are recommended. Choose the source projection that matches the file. A full panorama represents 360° horizontally and 180° vertically; a square panorama is expanded to 2:1.

Analyze and compare#

1. Choose Maximum lights: 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 64, 96, 128, 192.
2. Run the analysis, then compare Original HDRi with the light-layer approximation.
3. Adjust Preview Exposure to inspect bright or dark detail. This display adjustment does not alter the fitted lights.
4. Inspect inferred light shapes and the relative radiance error. Lower error means a closer fit under the reported metric, not guaranteed photographic similarity.
5. Analyze again with a different limit or projection if needed.

Recover a photographic background#

Enable Recover Photographic Background when a panorama mixes distinct sources with photographic surroundings. It adds one HDRi File beneath the fitted lights. Detected light areas are filled from surrounding image content.

Import the result#

Choose Append to existing layers or Replace existing layers. Review the background-color and ambient options when they are shown. That section can be omitted when the detected and current background match. Replacement replaces the existing layers and disables any legacy Environment contribution to avoid counting the source twice. When appending, check whether your source HDRi layer is still enabled so you do not unintentionally add its lighting twice.

The conversion can fit up to 192 lights. A project allows 256 layers total, including existing or recovered content. If Append exceeds the limit, reduce the fit count, remove unused layers or choose Replace after saving a backup.

The result is editable and approximate. Real-world photographic HDRi files may need a recovered background and manual refinement.

Compact conversion review#

The upload action pairs a yellow upload icon with the filename or Choose a studio HDRi. Source projection and Maximum lights use label/value rows; Analyse HDRi is on its own row. After analysis, Preview Exposure uses the shared slider and numeric input. The source caption includes its dimensions, such as Original HDRi (2048 × 1024). Close precedes the equal-height import/append action in the footer. Exposure affects comparison images only.