rendering a sphere using python

Hi,
I need a python script that renders a simple sphere under different lights:

and generates its normal map:

  • The script would render the same sphere under lights specified in the script.
  • 100’s of images like this need to be generated, each under different lights.
  • The rendering should be done using Luxrender (www.luxrender.net).
  • The projection should be orthogonal (rather than perspective)

How should go about this? It’s for a scientific project. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Ofer