Light blocking camera in Iray …
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Light blocking camera in Iray Render

in The Commons
How do I prevent lights blocking the camera in a render, they sometimes render as a dark object and other times they just block the render as if they were physical objects in the scene.
Thank you.
Comments
The only time a light could be visible in a render (not render-preview), is if it's something physical like an emmisive object. All other lights should be invisible and not be able to block cameras.
Photometric lights will be visible in an Iray render if you give them a geometry other than 'Point'. You will have to move the light out of shot or move your camera so it isn't blocked, like you would in photography. An emissive object with a very low value e.g. 0.001 for Cutout Opacity is almost invisible whilst still emitting.
Render Emitter, in the light's parameters, can be set Off to hide it from direct view. It will still show if viewed indirectly (in relfections, or through another surface) however.
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Move the camera or the light. Photographers deal with the aspect all the time.
Thanks for your help, all this makes sense.
Remember that changing height and width also changes the shadow definition. The main reason for increasing height/width is to get softer shadows. My default light is usually a disc or square at around 50x50 or larger, so for me it's better to move the light.
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