IES is a file format that contains the description of a light’s properties. It simulates realistic architectural lights based on real-world lights sold by vendors (figure 1). You can obtain IES profiles online - many light manufacturers provide free IES files to download.


IES Lights

Figure 1: Various IES light profiles shaping the light distribution


You can add IES profiles to an existing light source from the Shader Editor. Load the IES file into either a Grayscale or RGB Image node and connect it to either a Texture Emission or Blackbody Emission Distribution pin.


IES Lights

Figure 2: Using the Grayscale Image node to add an IES profile to a light source