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Global illumination accounts for both the light which arrives directly from a light source and the light that has been scattered or reflected from other surfaces.

The BRDF defines how light is reflected at an opaque surface, describing the relation between the incoming light and the reflected radiance.

Refraction occurs when light passes through a transparent material, bending due to the change in speed caused by a difference in material density (index of refraction).

Subsurface scattering is a mechanism of light transport in which light penetrates the surface of a translucent object, is scattered by interacting with the material, and exits at a different location.

Ambient light represents a fixed intensity light source that affects all objects in the scene equally, often used to approximate the effect of global illumination.

Absorption refers to the process where material takes in light and converts it to other forms of energy, such as heat, reducing the amount of light reflected or transmitted.

Irradiance is the power of electromagnetic radiation per unit area (surface). It is the measure of incoming light on a surface.

Reflection in rendering is the return of light from the surface back to the environment, which can be specular (mirror-like) or diffuse (scattered), and is defined by the material properties.

Shadowing refers to the absence of direct light due to the obstruction by an object, which can affect the visibility and intensity of lighting on surfaces.

Radiance is the amount of light that passes through or is emitted from a particular area, and falls within a given solid angle. It is a measure of the perceived power of light.

Emission represents the light produced by an object itself rather than reflected light, contributing directly to the radiance seen by the observer.

Local illumination only considers the light which interacts directly with the surface, ignoring indirect scattering and global effects such as reflections and refractions.

Diffuse reflection is the reflection of light from a surface such that an incident ray is scattered at many angles rather than at just one angle as in the case of specular reflection.

Specular reflection is the mirror-like reflection of light (or of other waves) from a surface, where each incident ray is reflected at a single angle.