SoftView - Lighting Attributes & how to use

I use Spot lighting for undercabinet lights and indirect lighting

Can also use for lighting up paintings on walls
Good for recessed ceiling lights as well

Atmospheric is great for wall/ceiling type lighting
Pay attention to the brightness factor and light color
For softer lighting try changing light color to suit your mood

For any additional lighting that you need, you can add individual lights to your model.
There are 4 different types of lights that can be added:

Point - It casts light in all directions like a light bulb or a fluorescent fixture.
Spot - It throws a cone-shaped beam of light.
Direct - Like the sun, it emits a direct ray of light from one direction.
Atmospheric -It throws a cone-shaped spotlight beam both up and down from the source as would a lamp or wall mounted fixture.

To Edit a Light Source
1. Click Edit from the camera control panel.
2. In the Plan view section of the control panel, select the light you want to edit. The Light menu opens.
3. Edit any of the following light settings from the Light tab:

Brightness
Use this setting to increase or decrease the intensity of the light source using the slide bar or enter a number from 1 to 20.

Decay (Applies to Spot and Point light sources only)

This setting defines how quickly the light source fades over a certain distance. You can set a value from 1 (the slowest rate) to 100 (the quickest rate).

Position
X - Move the light source horizontally to the left, from the center of the Workspace, by entering a negative measurement. Move it horizontally to the right by entering a positive measurement.
Y - Move the light source horizontally forward, from the center of the Workspace, by entering a positive measurement. Move it horizontally back by entering a negative measurement.
Z - The value set for this menu item, moves the light source vertically up or down from the baseline (0") of the building. To set the light source up 12' from the baseline, enter 12' in the Z field. To set the light source down 1' from the baseline, enter –1' in the Z field. The light source in the Elevation View will move to the vertical position you have set.

Target (Applies to Spot and Direct light sources only)
Target X - Move the target point of the light source horizontally to the left, from the center of the Workspace, by entering a negative measurement. Move it horizontally to the right by entering a positive measurement.
Target Y - Move the target point of the light source horizontally forward, from the center of the Workspace, by entering a positive measurement. Move it horizontally back by entering a negative measurement.
Target Z - The value set for this menu item, moves the target point of the light source vertically up or down from the baseline (0") of the building. To set the target point up 12' from the baseline, enter 12' in the Target Z field. To set the light source down 1' from the baseline, enter –1' in the Target Z field. The target point in the Elevation View will move to the vertical position you have set.

Color
Click the Color Box to open the Color menu and select a color for the light radiating from the light source.
Distance (Applies to Point lights only)
This setting defines how far the light travels before it begins to fade.
Angle (Applies to Spot lights only)

The two lines radiating out from the Spot light indicate how much of the drawing is being illuminated by the light. Use this item to change the angle of these radiating lines to include a wider or a narrower field of light. To change the angle, enter any angle of 89-degrees or less.

On
Turns a light source on or off but does not remove it.
By default, all newly added light sources are enabled

Shadows
When you check this item, if you are displaying the image in Rendered mode, objects receiving light will inherit shadows from the light source.

Note:
In order to display the shadows that will occur on objects in the 3D model, Shadows must also be selected in the Lighting options menu for a mode.
The shadows generated by the light will now be calculated and shown on your image.

Diffuse
Check this item to reflect light in all directions.

Specular
Check this item to bounce light off the objects receiving light.

Soften Edge
Check this item to soften the edges of a Spot light's illuminating light.

Direction
This is available for Atmospheric lighting only. You can choose to have the light shine Up, Down, or in Both directions.

4. The information in the Common tab is specified in the same way for all editable items. To learn how to set this information, see Setting Information in the Common Tab.
5. Select ok when all necessary changes have been made.

Note:
Any lights that have been added to illuminate the generated 3D image are shown in the camera control panel. These lights positions may be turned off to allow for better camera positioning. Note that when light positions are turned off, they will still affect the illumination of the 3D image. For details on turning off and on light sources, see Viewing Light Sources in the Camera Control Panel.

When in Rendered mode, you can use the Lighting Options menu to add soft lighting to the interior of the 3D model using the environmental light mapping command. This will add irregular light and shadow patterns to the ceiling, walls, and floor of the interior space giving it a more realistic appearance without the need to add a lot of additional lighting.