I would like to know how to compute the reflections off of the middle coffee mug and the back metal napkin holder with the details of the engravings and the reflection off of the metal.

Yes, along with the light reflections on multiple surfaces, it would be also very interesting to learn how to compute both the refraction that is observed behind the liquids in the glasses, along with the shadows that the objects cast.

I want to know how to compute reflections on surfaces like how the tart on the bottom left of the image reflects off of the glass it is next to. Similarly, the tart also changes the color of the mug next to it, making the shadows on the bottom warmer than the other parts.

I would like to know how to compute the light reflections off of the different types of surfaces here, such as the tart and the metal napkin holder. It's also interesting to me how certain items are (not) in focus, which would be cool to learn how to set up.

I would love to understand how you can render an image that looks like there is a unique light source from the light reflecting off of all the objects in such a natural way. Each of the objects reflects light differently, yet everything is rendered so perfectly that the person viewing the image understands that the light source is coming from somewhere from the top right. Truly amazing.

Thanks for the thoughtful comments, all!

We will learn how to compute the reflections and refractions you mentioned. This includes the specular (mirror-like) reflections that bounce off multiple surfaces -- e.g. we can see a cup reflected inside another cup. It also includes the refractions through liquids and glass elements.

We will also learn how to compute these reflections in a way that accurately produces the effects @jojoqjchen described of color from the tart changing the color of the nearby mug. This is an example of a phenomenon called "color bleeding".

We will learn how to simulate the selective focus as described by @madssnake (i.e. further objects in the scene are slightly blurred), which is a simulation of the optical effects of the lenses on cameras.

And we will learn how to simulate environmental light sources, as described by @kkoujah, where the light is consistent over all objects and mathematically originates from a spatially varying light texture on a distant sphere enclosing the scene. (There are other ways to achieve this kind of lighting realism, and just as importantly, the scene lights itself recursively, since light bouncing off each object illuminates its neighbors.)

I am not sure my observation is correct, but it seems like the liquid in the glass in the upper right corner should be semi-transparent. Should we be able to see through the liquid and see (at least some part of) the napkin behind it?

The second cup's reflection is in a spot that can reflect the camera/person taking the photo. I wonder how reflections are done in this case? In games, I assume it'll be the player's figure that is reflected back, but in cases like these what would be the norm?

It would be interesting to know how to render an image such that light is reflecting off all the items as if it was under a sun shadow, and the techniques we use to differentiate the varying amount of light the different objects would be under. Another interesting thing is that in the lecture someone used the phrase "cup within a cup" to describe one of the glasses. It would be cool to understand how technology can be used to create visual images that can depict something like this.

I would find it interesting to learn how the light reflection is done differently in response to the variety of different surfaces within this image - here we have a mix of many surfaces ranging from smooth like the ceramics to more rough like the surface of the tart and the cloths. Light would behave differently in these situations, so it would be interesting to see how this is handled in graphics to tie together lighting and textures and give it a more realistic look. It would especially be cool to see how this links with our previous learnings on texture mapping and how the ways we learned to apply those textures are implemented to use these lighting techniques.

For @geos98, I'm not sure because it looks a little off, but perhaps the white part near the top of the surface of that liquid is the napkin behind it, but just refracted? But I would definitely want to learn how to compute the effects for transparent/translucent bodies too. How would ray tracing simulate the sort of bending that happens when light passes through an object, like what's shown on slide 12 of this lecture? What's more, I would imagine that different bodies with different shapes and levels of transparency will effect the rays in different ways according to physics, so is that something that we would eventually explore as well? Will be very interesting to see these two subjects cross paths!

I would like to know how transparent objects (ie glass) or semi-transparent objects (ie the liquids) are rendered (especially since light seems to diffuse in those mediums). Additionally, I noticed that the view on the glass has both the transparent aspect and a reflective aspect (such as in the leftmost glass, where you can see a partial reflection of whatever the yellow thing is called idk food lmao), so I'd like to know how this is balanced.

The most interesting material to me is the powder on top of the cake. Since powder has a noisy distribution, but the way it looks here feels soft and smooth. I also want to know how the texture of the cake was rendered, did they use a very complex mesh or is it a texture with a bump map applied? I feel like it would be the later as it's computationally more efficient.

@aliwang2001 That is a very interesting observation, as normally during filming the crew would think of ways to silently erase themselves from reflections to make the experience more genuine. But in games it could be important to have reflections of the character to make the interactions more realistic and more immersive.

The most interesting thing to me is the cup on the left. There seems to be a sort of white layer on the top and the lighting gives it more depth and feel. It feels less like a surface and more like part of the scene.

The reflections are a big part of what makes the scene so realistic. The image of the cup reflected in the cup behind it, was well as the directional lighting on the cups, spoon, and grapes are some of the best features I would like to emulate. The translucency in the liquid/glass cup in the back is also really cool.

I want to know how to compute all the different reflections we can see in this image, as well as all the fine texture details of the objects such as the cake and the egg tart. The reflection on the middle cup is particularly interesting to me because it displays some object that I can't quite make out. Definitely looking forward to learning how to simulate light sources to implement such reflections. The rendering of all the fine texture details is also really impressive, it gives the photo an ultra-realistic feel that is difficult to see through unless you really study the image closely. The engravings on the spoons and the cake/pastry are ones that stand out to me.

I want to know how to compute lighting based on the refraction/reflection of the glass cup on the left, the caustics of such objects. Also how light would interact with semi-reflective surfaces such as the tart, it has a diffused type of reflection while also being a non-smooth surface.

The reflections in this render are certainly impressive. I've always wondered how these reflections are made not with just the direct light that comes from the scene, but also from other objects/colors in the scene as well. Additionally, something that comes to mind is what makes this image "photorealistic" versus an actual image. I think one of the main reasons this one looks computer generated is the lack of texture in some of the objects, for instance the egg tart

I would like to know how to compute the chocolate cakes (on the middle left of the image) small shading. The white powder is not a flat surface. Instead, it has small subtle shades between to reflect the realistic relationship for the power surface.

I would like to know how to compute the lightings and texture of the top of the yellow pastry. There is a certain glare on the right side of the pastry that makes it glisten and leaves a slight shadow on the rest of the snack.

I'd like to know how to compute the various light reflections that are bouncing off surfaces like the wine glass and grapes. The rendering of the glass is also remarkable since curved glass has so many properties that bend light in interesting ways, especially when there's a liquid inside.

I would like to learn how to compute the reflection of the light off the surface of the tea, as well as the distortion of the napkin behind the glass.