while watching my render in the shell window, i noticed that after shooint 100,000 photons it says 1703 photons kept. does that mean i’m wasting my time shooting so many?
It means something, like only those kept reached any surface visible in the render.
That’s correct, the shoot value is how may (max) you shoot, the rest went nowhere. You could try to tune the amount based on the scene and position of the photon lamp (to save render time.)
If you’re using the photon lamp method, try reducing the lamp’s cone angle so that it fits the reflective/refractive object nicely. This will focus all its photons onto the object you want to generate caustics from.
thanks guys.
i can’t figure these things out on my own you know.
Touching the same subject, whats pre-gathering?
In the yafray window “Pre-Gathering <18759> … OK”.