> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.intangible.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.intangible.ai/visualize/lighting-presets.md).

# Lighting presets

The Lighting tab in Visualize mode has a picker with a wide named preset library. Pick one and the model receives detailed lighting prose without you writing it. The way to push mood per render without leaving Visualize.

## Watch

{% embed url="<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nnIxGvckNc>" %}

![Visualize mode with the Lighting tab active in the right Visualizer panel, the Lighting preset picker visible, and a guided-prompt explaining what to describe (time of day, light sources, mood)](/files/869o7kgoyC6DPNwqVxOY)

## What it does

Cinematographers describe lighting in shorthand: *"golden hour"*, *"blue hour"*, *"stormy"*, *"overcast"*, *"backlit"*. Each phrase pulls a chain of associations: time of day, color temperature, contrast, weather, the presence of haze or mist. Lighting presets bundle that prose into one-click selections.

The Lighting block (atmosphere) is separable from the Style block (surface treatment). The same composition can swap atmospheres without changing surface treatment.

## How to use it

1. **Click the Lighting tab** in the right-hand Visualizer panel.
2. **Click the preset picker.** The **Select Lighting Preset** modal opens with a grid of named preset thumbnails.
3. **Filter if you need to**, using the row across the top: **Suggested** (default view), Search, **Any time of day**, **Any environment**, **Any location**, plus a **Reset** action.
4. **Pick a preset.** The Lighting tab populates with the preset's prose. The next generate uses that atmosphere.
5. **Iterate.** Try different presets to feel out the right mood. Composition and style stay put; lighting changes.

![Select Lighting Preset modal open with the Suggested filter active. Filter row at top has Search and three category dropdowns (time of day, environment, location). Grid shows named preset thumbnails like Sunset Cane Glow, City Jewelry by Night, Retro Arcade Neon, Moody Glass, Polaroid Hologram Twilight, Twilight Forest Depths, Concrete Sunset, Vibrant Wet Atrium](/files/hx3oFrj9uG2TcY3CyEEJ)

## What's in the working set

The picker carries a wide named library. Rather than enumerate the full set here (it evolves), use the in-product picker as the source of truth. The filter row at the top of the modal — time of day, environment, location — is the right place to narrow to what fits the brief.

## Lighting plus the scene's environment

Build mode's [environment](/build/environment.md) controls (sun position, time of day, fog) light the 3D viewport so you can read the scene; they aren't passed to the render. Render lighting comes from the lighting preset you pick here. The one environment setting that carries into the render is ground color, which the vision model reads as a material. See [Environment](/build/environment.md) for the full picture.

In practice: use the environment to keep the 3D scene readable while you build, then set the render's mood here in Visualize, per shot (this shot is misty, the next is stormy).

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    A[Build mode environment] -->|sun, time, fog| C[3D viewport readability]
    B[Lighting preset] -->|atmospheric prose| D[Render lighting]
    D --> E[Diffusion model]
    E --> F[Render]
```

## When to reach for it

* **Iterating mood quickly.** Cycle through presets to find the right atmosphere without rewriting prose each time.
* **Multi-shot consistency.** Apply one preset across the shots in a sequence so the lighting reads as one coherent set.
* **Client variations.** Show two renders of the same shot with different lighting presets to surface preference quickly.

When not to reach for it:

* **You already know what you want.** Edit the Lighting tab text directly. Once you have a custom atmosphere phrase, save it as a custom lighting phrase and reuse it on future shots; for surface treatment, see [Custom styles](/visualize/custom-styles.md).

## Limits and known issues

* **Lighting and Style can fight each other.** A stylized Style preset combined with a heavily atmospheric Lighting preset asks the model for two different things at once. The result is unpredictable; pick presets that share a register.
* **Some lighting presets don't apply to video models cleanly.** Photoreal presets generally translate; stylized lighting can degrade in motion. Test both before committing.

## Related

* [Style presets](/visualize/style-presets.md)
* [Custom styles](/visualize/custom-styles.md)
* [Environment](/build/environment.md)
* [Scene context](/visualize/scene-context.md)
* [Generate image](/visualize/generate-image.md)


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