1.2.4.5 The Ambient Light Source

The ambient light source is used to simulate the effect of inter-diffuse reflection. If there was not inter-diffuse reflection all areas not directly lit by a light source would be completely dark. POV-Ray uses the ambient keyword to determine how much light coming from the ambient light source is reflected by a surface.

By default the ambient light source, which emits its light everywhere and in all directions, is pure white (rgb <1,1,1>). Changing its color can be used to create interesting effects. First of all the overall light level of the scene can be adjusted easily. Instead of changing all ambient values in every finish only the ambient light source is modified. By assigning different colors we can create nice effects like a moody reddish ambient lighting. For more details about the ambient light source see "Ambient Light".

Below is an example of a red ambient light source.

  global_settings { ambient_light rgb<1, 0, 0> }