## 3.7 The Light Source

You know you have been raytracing too long when ...
... You take a photo course just to learn how to get the lighting right.
-- Christoph Rieder

In any ray-traced scene, the light needed to illuminate our objects and their surfaces must come from a light source. There are many kinds of light sources available in POV-Ray and careful use of the correct kind can yield very impressive results. Let's take a moment to explore some of the different kinds of light sources and their various parameters.

In 'The Light Source' ...
3.7.1 | The Pointlight Source
3.7.2 | The Spotlight Source
3.7.3 | The Cylindrical Light Source
3.7.4 | The Area Light Source
3.7.5 | The Ambient Light Source
3.7.6 | Light Source Specials