Camera, Image FX, and Still Image Output
The camera position is a design decision. The Image FX settings are a communication decision. Both require intention.
You are working with Lumion Education, not Lumion Professional. Some features, material libraries, and object content differ from the professional version. These cards reflect the Education version specifically.
Why this matters
A rendering from a badly chosen camera position misrepresents the design. A rendering with uncontrolled FX settings undermines credibility. The camera establishes what the viewer sees and what argument the image is making about the space. Image FX controls the atmosphere, mood, and visual quality that determine whether the image sells the design or simply shows it. These are not technical settings — they are design decisions made with technical tools.
Photo Mode and camera setup
Switch to Photo Mode via the camera icon. Navigate to the desired camera position using the same WASD controls as Build Mode. When the composition looks right, save the camera position using the camera slot icons at the bottom of the Photo Mode interface. Saved camera positions persist between sessions and survive model updates via LiveSync.
| Camera principle | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Horizon line | For human-scale images, place the camera at 5–6 feet above the ground plane. For an orthographic plan, place it directly above looking straight down. |
| Foreground | Include a foreground element — a planting edge, a path, a figure — to create depth. Empty foregrounds produce flat images. |
| Focal point | Every image needs a primary subject. What is this image arguing? Frame it so the viewer's eye arrives at that subject. |
| Avoid dead center | Elements placed dead center in the frame are static. Offset the primary subject along the rule-of-thirds grid for a more dynamic composition. |
| Check verticals | Vertical lines in architecture and trees should be vertical in the image. If they lean, your camera has roll applied. Check the camera roll setting. |
Image FX workflow
Image FX settings appear as a panel on the left side of Photo Mode. Work through them in this order — each setting affects how subsequent settings read.
| Order | FX Category | What to set |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighting and shadows | Sun angle (direction and height), shadow softness, and ambient light level. This is the most impactful single setting — sun angle determines the entire shadow pattern and spatial legibility of the scene. Set this before anything else. |
| 2 | Sky and atmosphere | Sky style, cloud cover, and atmospheric haze. Affects how the scene reads in terms of time of day and weather condition. Subtle haze improves depth; heavy haze obscures spatial relationships. |
| 3 | Weather effects | Rain, snow, and wind effects on vegetation. Use sparingly — weather effects are dramatic and should be chosen because they serve the design narrative, not because they look interesting. |
| 4 | Orthographic camera (plan or section view only) | In the FX panel, find the Camera settings and enable the Orthographic projection mode. This removes perspective distortion, producing a true parallel projection for plan and section/elevation view images. Used for the required orthographic plan image in Assignment 02. |
| 5 | Lens effects | Bloom (glow on bright surfaces), depth of field (foreground blur), chromatic aberration, and vignette. These are the settings most often overused. Each should have a reason for being on. Start with all of them off and add only what improves the image. |
| 6 | Day/night presets | Lumion provides preset lighting conditions (Sunny Day, Overcast, Sunset, Night, etc.). These are useful starting points but should be edited to fit your specific scene rather than used as-is. Double-click a preset to see its individual settings and understand how it was built. |
Required still image outputs
| Image | Camera setup | FX approach |
|---|---|---|
| Orthographic plan view | Camera directly above, pointing straight down, orthographic projection enabled in FX | Minimal FX — the plan image should read as a clean technical representation. Soft ambient light, no atmospheric effects, no lens effects. |
| Daytime perspective | Human-scale camera (5–6' height), composition showing the primary design moment | Full FX — lighting, atmosphere, entourage animation. This is the hero image. Take time with it. |
| Evening perspective | Same camera or a complementary composition, evening preset as a starting point | Adjust to show a believable lit environment — artificial light sources activated in Lumion, ambient sky darkened. Meaningfully different from the daytime image in mood, not just brightness. |
Output settings
In Photo Mode, click the render button (camera icon at top right). Set output resolution to 2K (2048 × 1080 or the closest available 2K preset in the Education version). Choose JPG or PNG. PNG is lossless and preferred for images that will be post-processed in Photoshop. JPG is smaller for images going directly to InDesign layout. Save to the Images folder of your project directory.
Try this
Set up your daytime image with all Image FX off. Save the camera position. Now turn on one FX setting at a time, looking at what each one changes before adding the next. When you reach a setting that doesn't improve the image, turn it off. The goal is the minimum set of FX that produces a convincing, atmospheric image. Most strong Lumion renders use three to five FX settings. If you're using ten, evaluate whether each one is actually doing something.
What breaks
Orthographic mode left on for perspective images — verify orthographic projection is off before rendering perspective views. An orthographic perspective image looks flat and spatially incorrect.
Evening image that is just a darker version of the daytime image — an evening image should feel different in character, not just dimmer. It needs artificial light sources active in the scene and a sky condition that matches an evening atmosphere. If your evening render looks like a cloudy afternoon, it hasn't been developed enough.