This page gives an overview of the Reflection Color Channel and explains how it is used.
Overview
The Reflection color channel stores reflection information calculated from the materials' reflection values in the scene. Surfaces with no reflection values set in their materials will contain no information in the render pass and will therefore render as black.
The Reflection color channel is formed by multiplying the Raw Reflection by the Reflection Filter color channels . So while the raw reflection pass gives the full reflection of objects reflecting in the scene, the reflection filter sets how much of that reflection should come through in the composite. The two are multiplied together to create the Reflection pass which gives a true representation of the reflection in the scene.
UI Path
||Node Editor|| > Add > Render Channels > Color Channel > Type > Reflection
Common Uses
The Reflection color channel is useful for changing the appearance of reflective elements after rendering using compositing or image editing software. Below are a couple of examples of its use.
Reflection Render Element
Original Beauty Composite
Brightened Reflection Render Element
Brightened and warmed Reflection Render Element
Brightened Reflections
Brightened and warmed Reflections
Compositing Formula
Raw_Reflection x Reflection Filter = Reflection
