This one I think

https://www.daz3d.com/orestes-iray-hdri-skydomes--cassini

I don't think it's cassini as in the promo the ground is different and light is more intense and yellowish than the cassini

This is a fantastic set, and it renders fast given compared to ther jungle sets. In the attached picture I used Hell Creek modules 03 and 05 with the backdrop from Mesozoic Badlands, Orestes HDRI Summer Day 05 and Terradome 3 atmosphere with forest haze.

No, I have no connection to Lyoness or any of her products.

To change the HDRI in the Render Settings->Environment, you need to locate the presets. Daz Studio provides more than one way to do just about anything. The following is just what I think would be easiest for you to find at this point.

• Go to Smart Content and select the Products tab.
• In the right column, type "HDR" in the filter field. This will isolate all the products with HDR in the title. You may find you have more than one.
• For the moment, looking for the included HDRIs, scroll down and find Daz Studio Iray HDR Outdoor Environments.
• Double-click to open.
• You will see a folder entitled Render-Settings. Select that and the presets will show.

Each HDRI has two presets. The presets labeled "Background" load only the HDRI. The other presets load both the HDRI and Cameras. The HDRIs load with Draw Dome set to On.

I have noticed that when I have an Iray Worlds Skydome in place that the Enviroment controls do not work.

Please open a new, blank scene in DS.

Open the Render Settings pane. This is probably docked to one side or the other, dependent on the layout you are using.

• There are three tabs across the top of the Render Settings pane: Presets, Editor, and Advanced. Please select Editor.
• You should now see a drop-down labeled Engine and set to NVIDIA Iray by default. Below that are two columns.
• In the left colum you will see folders for the various render settings. (I believe you are familiar with this page.)
• Please click on  "Environment" in the left column.
• Now in the right column, you see the relevant settings for the currently selected Environment Mode.
• Change the Environmt Mode and the relevent settings will also change.

I believe these are the Environment controls you refer to. These settings only control the Iray environment. You cannot rotate an object with these controls. Dome Rotation settings only affect the position of the environment lighting in relation to World Center, (xyz axes of 0, 0, 0.)

It doesn't matter how large the object, to rotate it, you will need to select it in the scene. You probably have a Scene pane (tab) docked to one side of the viewport. You can select items in this tab, as well as in the viewport, but often have better control of what you're selecting in the Scene tab.

I believe you are getting frustrated with the Iray Worlds because you see it as an Environment and it only seems natural it should be controlled by the Environment settings. However, it is an object. It has a mesh. And it is moved with either a tool or settings in the Parameters pane.

To create a Group, go to the Main Menu and click on Create. Scroll down to New Group… and select. A dialog window will open where you can name your new group. The default name is Group # where # is an actual number which increments. Click on Accept. As I mentioned before, you can select items to group first, or you can create the groups and then move items into it. Items in the group are considered children, with the group as the parent.

I'm pretty sure Ghost Lights were Kindred Arts' brainchild. That said, stick with whichever tutorial teaches the way you learn.

One reason why ghost lights work is they use a single poly to light an area. You can actually use any mesh. The difference between "mesh lights" and "ghost lights" is the latter are all but invisible. But… Iray will have to compute the effect of the light on every polygon of the mesh light. The more polygons used, the longer it will take to render the scene. The sphere you are thinking of using between your characters may add more time to the render than you expect. You can use a single poly plane between your characters and turn on Two Sided Light in the material settings, (Surfaces tab)

You don't need to spend money to get a nice backdrop for your renders. You can turn Draw Dome to Off, render the scene, save the render as a PNG image and the background will be transparent. Now you can add any background you want in any image editor that uses layers. I use Photoshop CS6. Gimp is open-source and somewhat like Photoshop, (though I've never spent much time with it.) There are others, I'm sure. You can create simple backgrounds in your image editor, or use one of many free backgrounds available in this Art Studio thread.

Better yet, would be if there is a skydome that had that cyclorama look  on one side and a light source on the otherside AND I can control it with the environment controls to position the light where I need it.  Is there something like that? 

You have just described HDRIs. Not all HDRIs are like that. But the HDR product that comes with Daz Studio is. And here are a couple of products in the store that meet that criteria:

• MEC4D HDRI Gardens Vol.1 - Megapack
• Orestes Iray HDRI Environment - Four Seasons Field
• Orestes Iray HDRI Environment - Winter Grove

There are also websites that have free HDRIs, although I am not familiar with them.

This one I think

https://www.daz3d.com/orestes-iray-hdri-skydomes--cassini

Wow, very nice Gogger! I really feel like you'll get the feel of how this product works quickly...The little bit of fiddling will turn into fun soon enough. Three main three things to watch are the scale of the Kaleidoscope prop, placing your camera on wide-angle just inside the prop, and watching the aux viewport for changes. From there out experiment with the presets and see what they do

Yep, I was stretching the K-Prop on both the X and Y and everything changed for the better after that!  I'm using Orestes Iray HDRI Skydomes - Fantasy Moon and was surprised at how well it worked. I can't wait to get to the long space station corridors like in the promos - and that library scene is to die for!  WOOHOO!!  Fun!  This one product will add SO MUCH diversity to my images that I produce each month.

This is the lonely road  HDRI by Orestes. It looks super nice with this old timey Cabin from Rendo, which looks like a nice hideaway.

tag: luci45 #6
Rest for the Weary
Mobster Big Ronny Rumoroso has yet to find the ideal relocation. Soon after arriving in Dubaris, the only city on the Planet Miuhiri, he was banished and soon found himself wandering country roads (without his faithful servant DumDum, who remained in Dubaris.) Katy and her friends were not pleased when they found him sleeping in a bed of their precious Flaming Katies.
 
Crow (Smith Micro) Replaced by Mobster Outfit from pull #1
Sleeping & Napping for Genesis 3 Male
Freaky Horns for Minotaur 6 Horns
Flaming Katy
Legacie Hair for G2F, G3F and V4 (LB)
Gabriella (LB)
Trouble Brewing Poses (LB)
FWF Mayuree HD for Mei Lin 6 (LB)
Orestes Iray HDRI Environment - Lonely Road (LB)
Intimates Collection (LB)

Also used
Sexy Silky For Genesis
Viking Hair for Genesis 1 and 2 Female(s)
Fairy Wings for Giselle 6
Pd Two-Tone Iray Shader Presets
ColorWerks Hair Shaders for Iray
dForce Loincloth Collection for Genesis 8 Male(s)
Varius morphs
Casual Friday Poses for V5 and Genesis
Vintage Male Hair for Genesis 3 and 8 Male(s)
Ivan 7
Travel Baggage
DG Iray Fabrics of Asia Shaders

Pull #6
Crow (Smith Micro)
Sleeping & Napping for Genesis 3 Male
Freaky Horns for Minotaur 6 Horns
Flaming Katy
Legacie Hair for G2F, G3F and V4 (LB)
Gabriella (LB)
Edit: Actual Eyes 4 (LB) Couldn't get this to work so pulled a replacement: Trouble Brewing Poses
FWF Mayuree HD for Mei Lin 6 (LB)
Orestes Iray HDRI Environment - Lonely Road (LB)
Intimates Collection (LB)

If you want to do it in-render, Jepe has a number of Iray-ready flame/plasma tyep billboard props in his store, and Sickleyield, Orestes Graphics and Fuselilng have some as well.  You can also make your own billboards using Ron's brushes by Deviney, or you can just put a light source inside the engine and then add the rocket effects in post using Photoshop or the Gimp, which gives you a lot more control.. 

Orestes Iray HDRI Abstract Style. I’ve been using it nonstop lately but it’s perfect for portraits 

I am testing Layla Hair with Orestes HDRI but unfortunately I am experiencing problems because parts of the hair are rendering as blcocked WHITE. Can anybody tell me what I'm going wrong???????

tag:luci45 #1
Exile
When mobster Big Ronny Rumoroso was exiled to the lovely tropical isle of San Cristobal, he dreamed of spending the rest of his years as a gentleman farmer. Considering his conviction on 99 counts of racketeering, he thought it was getting a pretty sweet deal. Upon arrival, however, he was dismayed to discover that the "natives" were not the happy and carefree types who would let him live as he pleased. 

Used:
Bull (Smith Micro)
The Tin Can
Courageous Warrior for Genesis 2 Male(s)
San Buenaventura 
Superhero Training Gear (LB) 
The Line Up (LB)
Our Little Farm (LB)
Dream Home: Dining Room Decor - Eclectic (LB) 
Mobster Outfit for Genesis 3 Male(s) (LB)
Genesis 2 Female Creature Creator Poses (LB)

Also used
Orestes Iray HDRI Skydomes - Summer Day
Uniforms for Michael 6
Force Hair
Milen Hair G2M
Vintage Male Hair
Fit and Flare Dress
Travel Baggage
Kimo texture
Various morphs and poses
Printers
Tripod (Freebie-Rendo-Madd Matt)

I'm wondering if anyone knows what environment set was used in the promo images for the Ruins of H'Trakram by Orestes Graphics (https://www.daz3d.com/ruins-of-h-trakram). I'm interested in both the mountainous landscape and the skies.

Saw this viking ship skimming the Breaking Waves in Orestes Graphics new Angry Heavens skydome promos.   Intense skies and Breaking Wave. Need I say more.

This ones pretty darn cool too.

Orestes Graphics Angry Heavens HDRI skys suggests inclement weather in the forecast,  and looking at this empty playground,   the words tornado and the storm shelter come to mind. People running,  a bit of mayhem,  very evocative of the possibilities.

This one is awesome too against the breaking waves.

 

I still need to buy at least one winter-themed HDRI and one urban-skyline HDRI (if I can find one), and maybe Orestes's lightning and storm cloud HDRIs.

Thank you very much for your insightful information. I confess that I've bought a lot but tried too little. And just BOSS pro that inspires me to try creating my own set. I've traced what you mention and there  are something interest me. I also learn that some sets are good at close up but very bad at distance. There are a lot to explore. Thanks again.

BOSS Pro Light Set is one of my most used go to lights sets for portraits, but I also like almost anything Colm does.  I often use Dimesnion Theory as well as Orestes for outdoor scenes.  I'm currently fixing to learn Iray Ghost Kit 2 and put it to good use as well.

TL;DR version is if I had to go with a single can't-live-without favorite, it would probably be Ghost Light Kit 2 for its ability to make dark scenes less grainy, or Iray HDR Outdoor Environments for covering a huge variety of situations with just a handful of options. But lighting is something I've been pretty aggressive about buying in the past few years, so here are my thoughts.

I had some fun with the 3DL rim light rig, I think it was one of my last lighting purchases before I went to Iray. I also own the Iray version, and it works well too, just haven't had a need for it too often. Warhol Inspired Spot Lighting 2 is fun but often impractical; the situations where a spotlight with a distant light for rim lighting are a better option than anything else are not too common. Something else that's cool but kind of specialized, and very reasonably priced is Sickleyields Fast Flames. They are textured and transmapped planes, but they are pretty convincing from a variety of angles, at least in the situations where you are likely to need them (nighttime scenes in dark forests or premodern buildings), and like the name says, they're fast to load, setup and render.

I like the Painters' Lights, shame about them leaving the store. They could be a little glitchy to use, though, and I wonder if that's what led to them getting pulled. For supplemental interior lighting to reduce graininess in renders, I tend to go to KindredArts's Ghost Light Kit 2 and Light Probe Kits. Iradiance Light Probe 3 is nice for portraits, and has some options that seem to work well with Middle Eastern, South Asian and East Asian skins. (Couldn't tell you which ones, offhand; if you have it and need it for that, load up the character you have in mind and just keep clicking through the options until you see something that works). The Headlamp off option is nice when you're using Perspective View to explore the scene and lighting setup, and need the headlamp turned off to get a better feel for the final lighting, or for how a newly purchased character is supposed to look.

Skies of Iradiance Bundle was one of my first Iray Lighting purchases (Fastgrab, IIRC) and tends to be my go-to for situations where I need outdoor lighting for a set complex that hides the horizon successfully. Iray HDR Outdoor Environments gets a lot of use from me, especially the desert HDR for Bible-themed art. For sci-fi art, I've enjoyed Orestes's Starry Night and Cassini.

New purchases include FortNight and Day, which is a really clever concept I haven't fully explored yet, and Iradiance HDRI variety pack 3, which is also promising so far.

I still need to buy at least one winter-themed HDRI and one urban-skyline HDRI (if I can find one), and maybe Orestes's lightning and storm cloud HDRIs.

List of Holiday Freebies:

• dForce Long T-Shirt for Genesis 8 Female(s) [Aave Nainen]
• WDJ's Christmas Memories [Wee Dangerous John]
• Tranquilizer Guns [Daz Originals; Nightshift3D]
• MD Desk Set [MikeD]
• FLO Makeup for Genesis 8 Female(s) [AprilYSH ]
• C3D Appliances [Collective3d]
• Z Sleigh All The Way - Props and Poses [Zeddicuss]
• Jepe's Art Deco Statuette for Victoria 8 [Jepe]
• Armchair [DG Vertex]
• Holiday Presents [Tesla3dCorp]
• Aluminum Drinking Cans [GeeSee3D]
• Little Seasonal Shelf [David Brinnen; ForbiddenWhispers]
• Medieval Crown for Genesis 8 Male [Deepsea]
• Christmas Poinsetta Plants [Daz Originals; MartinJFrost]
• Japanese Style Dining Set - Lotus [ZKuro]
• Christmas Suit for Daz Dog 8 [Karth]
• Monochromatic Iray Shaders [vyktohria]
• The Body Pillow [OziChick]
• IDG Vibrant Light Probes [DestinysGarden; InaneGlory]
• Santa Lucia Crown [Hellboy]
• PTF Crystal Drop Earrings [PixelTizzyFit]
• The Temple of Her [Anain; Belladona]
• Hexagon Essential Tips [Arki; Cgan]
• BB Mixer [3djoji]
• VIP Necklace for Genesis 8 Female [B-Rock]
• Fleet Ops: Corridor 7 [TangoAlpha]
• CC Holiday Ornaments [ChangelingChick; VincentXyooj]
• Wooden Christmas Train [DzFire]
• Rodeo Machine [tentman]
• Little Cars [3djoji]
• Polar Bear dForce Pillow [Cris Palomino]
• dForce BG Dress for Genesis 8 Female [Anain]
• A Little Table - Merry Christmas [Muscleman]
• Krampus Props and Poses for Genesis 8 [FeralFey; Orestes Graphics]
• Timeless Jewel Set for Genesis 8 Female [Mytilus]

Thanks to L'Adair for the start of the list and the format!

I'll try to keep it updated, if I miss something, feel free to let me know!

Original post: Has anyone done a list of all the Holiday freebies the PAs have put out this month?  I was going to try to do a render with a bunch of them in it, but I've forgotten a few, I think.  A list would be good, and someone usually does one, so I'm wondering if I've just missed it somewhere.

Hey guys, I've used the HDRI sets by orestes for outdoor HDRI and they have basically solves any lighting issues I've ever had. They just nail it, it all looks so realistic.
My problem is that I cannot find something like this for indoors. Without sounding lazy, it is so, so easy to throw these on and just rotate the dome for proper shadows, but indoors it seems much more difficult.
I cannot get the realism to be 1/10th of what it is outside on the inside and I don't see how I could use an HDRI for that. Any suggestions? 

You might have missed this little gem by "dimension theory"...
https://www.daz3d.com/iradiance-hdri-variety-pack-one
Not only does it have an indoor HDRI but it also has a couple of night time ones that re my goto.. I find this is my most commonly used HDRI set and I hope that somebody makes more of them...