One of the unique features of Final Fantasy XIV is the Gpose function, which allows players to take in-game screenshots and adjust various elements — and nothing influences a scene quite as dramatically as lighting. In this guide, we will explore lighting in Gpose and provide some tips for players to create stunning images!
Why is Lighting Important?
Lighting plays a crucial role in creating beautiful and impactful images. The use of lighting can enhance the mood and atmosphere of the scene and make the subject pop just like in real photography; it can also add depth and texture to the image, making it look more realistic, dynamic, and immersive.
Bright and colorful lighting can make the scene look more cheerful and optimistic, while dim lighting can create a sense of mystery and intrigue. The direction of the light source can also influence the shadows and highlights on the subject, creating a more three-dimensional effect.
Types of Gpose Lighting in FFXIV
There are several types of lighting that players can use in Gpose to create different effects and put their compositions together: some are static and some are yours to control.
Environment: This refers to lighting that comes from the scene in the open world or inside instanced content. This can include sunlight, moonlight, or other such natural light sources. Environmental lighting can create a more realistic and natural effect and can be used to create a variety of moods and atmospheres.
Static sources: This includes any type of lighting that comes from objects, like lamps or torches, and they can be used to add depth and texture to the image or to help drive a narrative.
Global illumination: Controlled by the Manual Brightness slider under General Settings, this is equivalent to exposure in real-world photography. It’s a great tool to reduce glare and over-exposition, or to bring out details in darker scenes.
Character Lighting: As mentioned in our previous guide, character lightning has no real-world equivalent in photography, but you can use it to bring focus to entities like characters, enemies, and minions, or to create hard contrast lines with light sources to great effect.
Point Lights: The most flexible of the lighting options, this provides three light sources that can be used not only to emulate the traditional three-point lighting method for illuminating a subject, but also to alter the environment itself with different intensities and fall-off distances.
In the example below, a purple Type 1 source is placed atop the character to set up an electric mood while a white Type 1 source is placed to the left to create contrast and delineate his face. Finally, a dark purple Type 2 light source is placed near the black wall to create a soft contrasting background.
Tips for Using Lighting in Gpose
Weapons and armor pieces with glow effects do not behave as actual light sources do, but you can strategically place point lights to emulate the source and create a more realistic setup.
Explore the environment! The game world of FFXIV has various environments, both in the open world and as part of its instances, each with their own unique lighting. Use the environment to your advantage and experiment with different lighting conditions to create the desired effect.
Use filters! Gpose offers a range of color filters that can alter the lighting and color of the image. Try using these filters to create a unique and striking image, like the example below using the filter labeled “Monochrome 1”:
In conclusion, lighting is an essential element of Gpose. It can greatly enhance the mood and atmosphere of the scene and create a more immersive and realistic image. By experimenting with different types of lighting and playing with different configurations, players can create stunning images that capture the magic of Eorzea!
