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Tags: unity, lighting, post-processing, bloom, ssao, color-grading, directional-light, point-light, game-dev Last updated: 2026-06-27

Lighting & Post-Processing Cheatsheet

Quick Reference

Light Type	Use Case	Performance
Directional	Sun/moon, global illumination	Cheap
Point	Bulbs, torches, explosions	Medium
Spot	Flashlights, stage lights	Medium
Area (baked)	Soft interior lighting	Baked only
Emissive Material	Glowing surfaces	Cheap

Light Types

Directional Light

Property	Description
Intensity	Brightness (lux for real-world units)
Indirect Multiplier	Bounce light intensity
Shadow Type	None / Hard / Soft
Cookie	Texture mask (cloud shadows)
Culling Mask	Which layers receive light

Point Light

Property	Description
Range	Maximum distance (in metres)
Intensity	Brightness
Shadow Type	None / Hard / Soft
Render Mode	Auto / Important / Not Important
Cookie	Cubemap mask

Spot Light

Property	Description
Range	Maximum distance
Spot Angle	Cone angle (1–179°)
Inner/Outer Angle	Falloff region
Shadow Type	None / Hard / Soft

Shadow Settings

Setting	Effect	Cost
No Shadows	No shadow map rendered	Free
Hard Shadows	Sharp shadow edges	Medium
Soft Shadows	Realistic penumbra	High
Shadow Resolution	Low/Med/High/Very High/Ultra	Memory
Shadow Distance	Max draw distance	Perf gain if reduced
Shadow Cascades	0/2/4 splits (directional only)	2 = good balance

Light Modes

Mode	Description	When
Realtime	Full dynamic lighting, shadows	Moving lights, player interaction
Mixed	Baked indirect, dynamic direct	Static scenes with dynamic objects
Baked	Pre-computed lightmaps only	Static scenes (best performance)

Light light = GetComponent<Light>();
light.lightmapBakeType = LightmapBakeType.Mixed;
light.shadows = LightShadows.Soft;
light.shadowStrength = 0.8f;

Post-Processing Stack

Setup

Install Post Processing package (Package Manager).
Add Post-process Layer to Camera.
Add Post-process Volume to scene (Global or local).
Add overrides to Volume profile.

Bloom

Property	Effect
Intensity	Glow strength
Threshold	Brightness cutoff for bloom
Soft Knee	Smooth threshold transition
Scatter	Bloom spread (anamorphic flares)
Clamp	Cap max brightness

Color Grading

Property	Effect
Temperature	Warm (yellow) ↔ Cool (blue)
Tint	Green ↔ Magenta
Post-Exposure	HDR exposure after lighting
Contrast	Midtone contrast
Saturation	Colour intensity
Lift/Gamma/Gain	Shadows / Midtones / Highlights

ColorAdjustments ca;
ca.postExposure.value = 1.2f;
ca.contrast.value = 10f;
ca.saturation.value = 5f;

SSAO (Screen Space Ambient Occlusion)

Property	Effect
Intensity	Shadow strength in crevices
Radius	Sample radius
Quality	Sampling precision
Color	Tint AO color (usually dark)
Direct Lighting Strength	AO on direct-lit surfaces

Vignette

Property	Effect
Intensity	Edge darkening strength
Smoothness	Blend width
Rounded	Circular vs screen-shaped
Color	Tint vignette (black is default)

Motion Blur

Property	Effect
Shutter Angle	Blur length (0–360°)
Sample Count	Quality (higher = less noise)
Intensity	Blend strength

Depth of Field

Property	Effect
Focus Distance	In-focus depth
Aperture	Blur intensity (f-stop)
Focal Length	Zoom (mm)
Max Blur Size	Quality cap

Global Volume Setup (Code)

Volume volume = GetComponent<Volume>();
VolumeProfile profile = volume.profile;

if (profile.TryGet(out Bloom bloom))
    bloom.intensity.value = 1f;

if (profile.TryGet(out ColorAdjustments grading))
    grading.saturation.value = 10f;

if (profile.TryGet(out Vignette vignette))
    vignette.intensity.value = 0.3f;

Performance Tips

Tip	Impact
Limit shadow-casting lights to 1–3	High
Use Baked mode for static lighting	High
Reduce shadow resolution on Point/Spot lights	Medium
Disable SSAO on low/mobile	Medium
Use 2 shadow cascades instead of 4	Medium
Limit realtime area lights to 0	High
Disable motion blur on mobile	Low
Use LOD for post-processing on mobile	Medium