V-Ray Tip: V-Ray Lens Effects: Subtle Bloom and Glare Workflow

Bloom and glare are finishing touches—use them to guide the eye, not wash the image.

• Enable and place late in the stack:
  • Render your frame, open the V-Ray Frame Buffer (VFB), add a Lens Effects layer, and enable Bloom and Glare.
  • Keep Lens Effects above your denoiser and color corrections in the VFB layer stack for the cleanest result.
• Start with controlled thresholds:
  • Increase Threshold until only the brightest speculars, emissive surfaces, and practicals are affected. If mid-tones are glowing, your threshold is too low.
  • Balance exposure first with a physical camera; use lens effects to accent, not compensate for over-bright lighting.
• Subtle intensities and sizes:
  • Bloom Intensity: 0.1–0.3 is usually enough for photoreal interiors and product shots.
  • Glare Intensity: 0.05–0.2 to avoid star-shaped streaks taking over the frame.
  • Size is screen-space: smaller values for HD, slightly higher for 4K. Keep halation snug around highlights; excessive size turns the image milky.
• Bloom vs. Glare roles:
  • Bloom: soft halo for large, diffused sources and luminous screens.
  • Glare: directional streaks that echo aperture shape—use for point lights and sharp specular hits.
  • Match real optics: set blade count/rotation to your camera for believable star patterns; use mild anamorphic stretch only when motivated.
• Add character without clutter:
  • Use a subtle dirt/obstacle map to break symmetry (think lens dust or micro scratches). Keep strength low (around 0.1–0.25).
  • Avoid heavy chromatic fringing unless you’re matching a specific lens or plate.
• Keep highlights clean first:
  • Fix fireflies before lens effects; small hot pixels become exaggerated streaks. Improve light sampling, clamp extreme HDR reflection colors if necessary, and prefer better sampling over aggressive clamping.
  • Denoise before bloom/glare to prevent soft halos around noise.
• Consistency across deliveries:
  • Document settings per resolution; because sizes are in pixels, a 4K deliverable will need proportionally larger sizes than HD.
  • Use Light Mix to refine highlight ratios before lens effects—this preserves dynamics and reduces the urge to push intensity too high.
• Compositing-ready output:
  • Add the BloomGlare render element and save 32‑bit EXRs. Composite additively over the beauty for precise control in post.
  • For multiple looks, save VFB Layer Presets and keep them versioned with your scene.

Rule of thumb: if you notice bloom and glare before the subject, it’s too strong. Keep the effect just visible on key highlights to add scale, realism, and a touch of cinematography.

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