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I have my scene perfectly lit without the use of a HDRI, however I would now like to add one just so I can have some world reflections in my glossy objects. I can't seem to get the HDRI reflecting in my objects without it also adding light to the scene, though. Is there any way to use an HDRI solely for reflections, and not have its light also affect the scene? I am using Cycles.

Thanks

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2 Answers 2

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Or you can use the Is Glossy Ray input from the Light Path node.
With this setup, your World color stays the same, but reflection rays show your HDRI.

Color 1 is your world background, Color 2 is your HDRI.

enter image description here

Using Using Light Path input enter image description here

Using solid grey World color enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ Hi, I still can't get your set-up to work. I've added a screenshot as an example, but the reflections and overall light still seem to be tied together. In my example, I would like to have reflections in the sphere but not have the scene light up too. If I set the background strength to zero, obviously there are zero reflections and everything is dark but for my scene lights. If I increase the strength, reflections appear as I want, but the rest of the scene lights up too. Am I missing something? Sorry if I'm just being dumb. I'm new to Blender. Thanks. imgur.com/a/WqF6mWc $\endgroup$
    – nevermind_me_
    Commented May 13, 2020 at 10:12
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    $\begingroup$ Hello, you're not dumb, it's complicated :). All materials reflect light to some degree, so you cannot entirely eliminate lighting changes to your scene. The reflections of your HDRI bounce around and can affect other objects. $\endgroup$
    – jachym michal
    Commented May 13, 2020 at 11:04
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    $\begingroup$ To sum up: What you're looking for isn't possible (because physics), but you can get closer with these solutions :). As in real world photography, Photoshop might be required for perfect result. $\endgroup$
    – jachym michal
    Commented May 13, 2020 at 11:08
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Sure, you need to go into the Properties panel > World > Ray Visibility, and deactivate Diffuse.

enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ Hey :). Just tried this, and all diffuse rays render as black. Am I doing something wrong? $\endgroup$
    – jachym michal
    Commented May 12, 2020 at 17:39
  • $\begingroup$ hello, I'm not sure what you mean, if you deactivate Diffuse, the HDRI won't enlighten the scene anymore, so you need to create some lights, your solution is good though $\endgroup$
    – moonboots
    Commented May 12, 2020 at 17:50
  • $\begingroup$ Oh, that makes sense, thanks :). $\endgroup$
    – jachym michal
    Commented May 12, 2020 at 18:07

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