---
title: "Caustics"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/VMAX/113586830/Caustics"
format: markdown
---
> Macro (anchor)



<details>
<summary>Click here to expand the Photon Map Examples...</summary>

Here, the Caustics method is set to **Photon map**, and the Light Caustics Multiplier is again set to 80. As can be seen, the larger search distance produces blurrier caustics.

![photonmap_searchdist_1-5.png](media://218e82d8-4954-4cde-b9c9-1d5fcd66fc1b)


![photonmap_searchdistance_2-5.png](media://0dba17d2-6b29-4450-9833-96c8c6edfbef)


![photonmap_searchdist_5.png](media://ca930da8-918a-457c-a41b-e3d30e9deefa)
</details>


---


> Macro (anchor)



### **Example: VRaySun Photon Emit Radius**

This example shows how a light's photon emit radius affects the caustics effect. Here we use a **VRaySun** to light the scene. For this example, the **Light Caustics Multiplier** is 80 (V-Ray Light Properties > Caustics Multiplier) and the rest of the parameters are at their default values.



---


> Macro (anchor)



<details>
<summary>Click here to expand the Max Photon Examples...</summary>

### **Example: Max Photons**

For this example, the **Light Caustics Multiplier** is 80 (V-Ray Light Properties > Caustics Multiplier) and the rest of the parameters are at their default values. **VRaySun** is used in this scene. As can be seen, the larger value of the Max photons parameter causes the caustics to appear much smoother.

![maxphoton_example_10.png](media://96c9dbbc-e978-43f2-bc2e-74caced56424)


![maxphoton_example_100.png](media://1821382f-e311-4fe1-ae83-63ff889708f8)


![maxphoton_example_300.png](media://58300757-d35e-4f30-aafd-73403323cc4d)
</details>