TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVED LIGHTING MODELS FOR APPEARANCE CAPTURE

Various embodiments include a system for rendering an object, such as human skin or a human head, from captured appearance data. The system includes a processor executing a near field lighting reconstruction module. The system determines at least one of a three-dimensional (3D) position or a 3D orientation of a lighting unit based on a plurality of captured images of a mirror sphere. For each point light source in a plurality of point light sources included in the lighting unit, the system determines an intensity associated with the point light source. The system determines captures appearance data of the object, where the object is illuminated by the lighting unit. The system renders an image of the object based on the appearance data and the intensities associated with each point light source in the plurality of point light sources.