How to Shoot HDRI Chrome Balls for Lighting Capture (2025 Complete Tutorial)

Want to recreate realistic lighting in Blender, Maya, or Unreal Engine? In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to properly use an HDRI chrome ball (also known as a mirror ball) to capture high-quality light reference for visual effects and CG rendering. We'll walk you through the gear, camera settings, bracketed exposure, and HDR processing.

 What Is an HDRI Chrome Ball and Why Use It?

An HDRI chrome ball is a highly reflective sphere used on film and VFX sets to record ambient lighting and reflections. By photographing the mirrored surface from a fixed angle, you can extract environmental lighting data to build accurate HDRI maps for CGI rendering. Chrome balls are compact, lightweight, and ideal for solo VFX artists or indie teams.

 What You’ll Need

  • RefBall chrome mirror ball (recommended size: 126mm or 200mm)
  • DSLR or mirrorless camera with RAW and bracketing support
  • Tripod or C-stand
  • Shutter remote or self-timer
  • HDR software (e.g., Photomatix, Luminance HDR, Affinity Photo)

 Recommended Camera Settings

Mode: Manual (M)
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 100
Shutter: base exposure at 1/200s
Bracket: ±3 EV, 7 to 9 exposures total
Format: RAW

 Shooting Steps

  1. Mount the chrome ball on a stable stand at eye level.
  2. Use a medium telephoto lens (85–100mm) and frame the ball in the center.
  3. Enable auto-exposure bracketing and shoot a full exposure set (7–9 images).
  4. Use a remote trigger or timer to avoid shake.Figure: Typical setup for capturing HDRI chrome ball reference on set.

HDR Processing

  1. Import your exposures into an HDR tool (Photomatix, Luminance HDR, etc.)
  2. Align and merge into a 32-bit HDR image (*.hdr or *.exr).
  3. Retouch out any crew reflections or equipment using Photoshop.
  4. Optionally convert to equirectangular for 3D software usage.

RefBall Pro Tips: Which Ball Size to Use?

Use Case Recommended Ball Size
Outdoor shooting 200mm chrome grey ball kit
Indoor setups 126mm chrome grey ball kit
Lightweight setups 60mm chrome grey ball kit

 FAQ

When should I use a chrome ball?
Whenever you need to capture on-set lighting for realistic 3D rendering — film shoots, photogrammetry, virtual production, and more.

What’s the difference between a chrome ball and a gray ball?
Chrome balls capture reflections; gray balls capture lighting intensity, direction, and color temperature.

 Downloads

Ready to upgrade your VFX workflow? Browse our full RefBall product collection for high-precision chrome balls, gray balls, and calibration tools.

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