Architectural_Design_with_SketchUp

Chapter 5 Rendering in SketchUp
Figure 5.32: Studio setup with backdrop and lights
As you can see, I simply applied an exterior street scene photo to a vertically oriented
rectangle (keep in mind that sometimes arched surfaces are better) that I placed a certain
distance behind the window. Having this in place, I can then move the camera (the
viewpoint) around within the room, and the background view shifts in a realistic manner.
The result is shown in Figure 5.33.
In order to make this rendering work, though, I had to place additional light sources in
the inside and the outside of this scene. Because the sunlight shines into the window,
the backdrop would have been in the shade. Placing a point light above the room (and
giving it a high light intensity) illuminated the backdrop and even gave it a bit of overexposure—an
effect that would be expected if you took a photograph from the inside
of a room toward the outside.
Alternatively, you can make the backdrop image a light-emitting material and give it
enough light power to make it look realistic. These materials are covered in a later section.
Figure 5.33: Two rendered views from inside the room (note the background shift)
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