The prolific Dave Girard with a short post on adding interest and realism to 3D renders by using studio lighting techniques similar to photography using reflector cards, gobos and items that will add interest to the quality of light in a scene. Check out Dave’s Using Studio Photography Techniques in Rendering: Gobos and Reflectors here.
Dave Girard writes: The basic reasoning behind using a reflector card is that it gives more interesting reflections and bounces light back on objects without creating additional lights, which some people like to use but I find unneeded and just adds to render times. I’ve art directed a lot of product photo shoots and 60% of the time at a shoot is just watching the photographer move white cards and gobos to create the most interesting reflections and refractions
