Lighting

What appropriate lighting looks like

Good lighting lets the camera see the complete upward-facing value of every die without losing detail to darkness, glare, or hard shadows. The goal is not simply a bright room; it is a stable, evenly lit Rolling Area with clear contrast between the dice and tray.

• Bright enough: numbers, pips, edges, and orientation marks remain visible without heavy image noise.
• Even: the center and edges of the Rolling Area have similar brightness.
• Diffuse: light arrives from a broad area instead of a sharp point, reducing harsh reflections and shadows.
• Stable: brightness and color do not pulse, flicker, or change while dice settle.
• Good contrast: each die is visibly distinct from the rolling surface in color or brightness.
• Clear faces: the rolled value remains readable without a blown-out highlight or shadow covering it.

A practical lighting arrangement

1. Mount the camera directly above the tray and secure it before arranging lights.
2. Place two broad or diffused lights on opposite sides of the tray, slightly above it and outside the camera view.
3. Aim the lights across the tray rather than directly into the camera or straight down onto glossy faces.
4. Check the tray corners and edges for darker zones.
5. Place a representative die in several locations and confirm its value remains readable.
6. Remove the die, run the Lighting Quality Assistant, correct its recommendations, and recalibrate the empty tray.

If you only have one lamp

Move it higher and farther from the tray, soften it with a purpose-made diffuser or bounce it from a light-colored wall or ceiling. Position it so the camera and your hands do not cast a strong shadow across the rolling area.

Useful, inexpensive options

• Dimmable LED desk lamps with broad heads.
• Two small matching lamps placed on opposite sides.
• Clamp lights aimed through safe, purpose-made diffusion material or bounced from a nearby wall.
• A ring or panel light positioned high enough that it does not create a bright reflection around every die face.

Expensive studio lighting is not required. Consistency, diffusion, and placement matter more than brand or price.

Tray and dice contrast

The tray does not need to be black, gray, or neutral. Joe's Real Rolls evaluates colored rolling surfaces using their actual exposure, evenness, glare, stability, and contrast with a representative die.

• Use a matte surface when possible.
• Light dice usually stand out best on a darker tray; dark dice usually stand out best on a lighter tray.
• When dice and tray share a similar color, choose a surface with a clear brightness difference.
• Avoid busy patterns, reflective graphics, glitter, and permanent marks that resemble dice edges or numerals.
• Test every dice style you expect to use, not only the easiest opaque die.

Mixed dice collections

A single tray may not provide ideal contrast for both very light and very dark dice. Choose a mid-tone matte surface with color contrast, or use separate Dice Sets and tray arrangements when two collections require meaningfully different setups.

Reflective, metallic, and translucent dice

Glossy or metallic dice

• Use larger, more diffuse sources and move them farther to the sides.
• Change the light angle until highlights move away from the upward-facing number.
• Reduce brightness when face detail is being washed out.
• A matte tray helps prevent a second reflection beneath the die.

Translucent or clear dice

• Use even side lighting that defines the outer shape without shining directly through the face into the camera.
• Choose a tray color that contrasts with both the die body and its inked numbers.
• Avoid bright light directly beneath or behind the die.
• Check that internal reflections do not make neighboring faces appear brighter than the rolled face.

Dark dice

• Increase soft illumination rather than relying only on camera exposure.
• Use a lighter matte tray when the die boundary disappears.
• Keep specular highlights from replacing readable face detail.

What to avoid

• One harsh point source: creates hard shadows and bright hot spots.
• Direct backlighting: can turn opaque dice into silhouettes and overwhelm translucent dice.
• Changing daylight: sunlight moving through a window can invalidate an earlier calibration during play.
• Mixed light colors: warm and cool lamps from different directions can change the appearance of dice across the tray.
• Visible flicker: some low-quality or heavily dimmed LEDs pulse on camera even when they look steady to your eyes.
• Camera auto-exposure hunting: repeated brightness changes after hands or dice enter the tray make the empty calibration less representative.
• Camera or hand shadows: a centered overhead camera can block a ceiling light, while your rolling hand can briefly darken the complete tray.
• Glossy or patterned surfaces: reflections and printed designs can be mistaken for objects.
• Lights inside the frame: visible bulbs or panels can cause glare and exposure problems.

Use the Lighting Quality Assistant

1. Confirm the correct camera, resolution, zoom, and Rolling Area.
2. Remove every die and object from the tray.
3. Open Camera → Lighting Quality Assistant.
4. Allow the assistant to sample the selected area without moving the camera or lights.
5. Review brightness, dark areas, glare, evenness, flicker, stability, and overall guidance.
6. Follow the recommendations, run the assistant again, and aim for a score of 85 or higher.
7. Test a representative die when prompted or when evaluating contrast.
8. After the lighting is stable, recalibrate the completely empty tray.

The score is guidance, not the final measure of success. Test fresh physical rolls throughout the tray, including difficult dice, before deciding the setup is ready.

Windows Camera Settings and exposure

Open Windows Camera Settings from the main window or Camera Settings when the image remains too bright, too dark, soft, or unstable after improving the physical lighting.

• Make one small change at a time.
• Prefer improving the real light before pushing exposure to an extreme.
• Check both light and dark dice after changing brightness or exposure.
• Watch the live preview for repeated automatic brightness changes.
• Rerun the Lighting Quality Assistant and recalibrate after a material change.

Camera controls vary by device and driver, so some settings may not be available on every camera.

Before training or playing

1. Run the Lighting Quality Assistant with the empty tray.
2. Calibrate the empty tray.
3. Test one familiar die in the center and near each edge.
4. Test the most reflective, translucent, lightest, and darkest dice you plan to use.
5. Confirm results in Standalone before connecting Foundry, Roll20, or Discord.
6. Keep the lamps, camera, curtains, and tray in the same positions during training and play.

Lighting troubleshooting

The complete image is too dark

1. Add or move a broad light closer to the tray.
2. Use two sources so the camera or your hand does not block the only light.
3. Confirm a lamp is not being dimmed by a power-saving or smart-light setting.
4. Use Windows Camera Settings for a modest exposure adjustment only after improving the real illumination.
5. Rerun the assistant and recalibrate.

One side or corner is darker

Move the lights to opposite sides, raise them, or bounce light into the darker area. Check that the tray wall, camera mount, monitor, or nearby object is not blocking the light.

Bright spots cover the numbers

• Move the light farther to the side or higher above the tray.
• Use a larger diffuser or bounce the light.
• Reduce lamp brightness or camera exposure slightly.
• Rotate the tray or change the lamp angle so reflections do not fall on the rolled face.

Shadows or glare are detected as dice

1. Correct the Lighting Quality Assistant recommendations.
2. Reposition lights to soften the shadow or reflection.
3. Increase Difference threshold slightly if small lighting changes remain.
4. Increase Rolling Area margin when tray-wall highlights are involved.
5. Recalibrate with a completely empty, still tray.

The image flickers or changes brightness

• Turn off or replace the lamp that flickers in the camera preview.
• Avoid mixing daylight with artificial light when the daylight changes rapidly.
• Close blinds or curtains for a repeatable setup.
• Review Windows Camera Settings if automatic exposure repeatedly changes.
• Do not train until the preview is stable.

Dice disappear into the tray

Choose a tray with stronger color or brightness contrast, improve soft illumination, and lower Difference threshold slightly only after the physical setup is good. Keep the die fully inside the Rolling Area.

Translucent dice are inconsistent

Remove direct backlighting, use even side lighting, and choose a tray that contrasts with the die outline and printed numbers. Test several natural positions because internal reflections change with rotation.

The assistant score is good but recognition is poor

1. Inspect focus, resolution, camera height, and die size.
2. Confirm the representative die is actually readable across the complete tray.
3. Check for wrong labels or mismatched lighting in personal training images.
4. Restore the Factory Baseline and test fresh rolls to separate lighting from personal-model quality.
5. Use the Training guide only after the camera and lighting are proven stable.

Lighting changes during a session

Pause, restore the intended lamp and room conditions, rerun the Lighting Quality Assistant, and recalibrate. Do not continue collecting training images through a major lighting change.